(Reuters) -Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk plan to announce new drug pricing deals with the White House, including for their weight loss medicines, in return for Medicare coverage of their products, Endpoints News reported on Tuesday.
Under the deal, the companies would offer the lowest dose of their respective obesity drugs at $149 per month, the report said, citing sources familiar with the matter. The agreement can be announced this week, it added.
Patients in the U.S. currently pay the most for prescription medicines, often nearly three times more than in other developed nations, and President Donald Trump has been pressuring drugmakers to lower their prices to what patients pay elsewhere.
In return, the drugs would gain coverage under Medicare, a federal health insurance program in the U.S. for people aged 65 and older or who have disabilities, which would open up a huge new set of reimbursement, according to the report.
Lilly and Novo did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Pfizer was the first drugmaker to announce a deal with the Trump administration. In September, the company agreed to lower prescription drug prices in the Medicaid program to what it charges in other developed countries in exchange for tariff relief.
Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that helps cover medical costs for some people with limited income.
Trump had also said Pfizer would offer that most-favored-nation pricing on all new drugs launched in the U.S. and flagged that other drugmakers will follow suit.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)
Comments