Trump struck deals with 16 drug companies. They’re still raising prices : NPR

Since September, 16 major drug companies have inked deals with the Trump administration to lower prices. But in January — the time of year when pharmaceutical companies typically roll out price hikes — all 16 companies released higher list prices for some of their drugs.

The agreements, nicknamed “most favored nation” deals, were aimed at getting lower prices for American consumers and pushing other wealthy countries to pay higher prices for new drugs.

But drug companies, including the 16 that made deals, raised the prices of 872 brand-name drugs in the first two weeks of 2026, according to a new analysis by 46brooklyn, a drug price research firm.

The drugs with price hikes included medicines to treat cancer, heart failure and Type 2 diabetes. The price of some COVID shots also went up.

“The real truth serum is what’s happening in the marketplace after those deals occur,” says Antonio Ciaccia, CEO of 46brooklyn, a nonprofit that tracks the list prices of prescription medications. “January is prime time for list price changes on brand-name drugs. So in examining where we are today, we’re pretty much in line with the last few years.”

The price increases came in at a median of 4% — the same as last year — despite the deals announced with fanfare by the Trump administration.

Pharmaceutical list prices are the starting point for negotiations with insurers and the middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers. List prices play a role in which drugs insurers choose to cover and what the patient ultimately pays out-of-pocket at the pharmacy counter.

Asked about the price hikes and whether they break the terms of the deals, White House spokesperson Kush Desai said the list prices aren’t important, and that the specific discounts addressed in the deals are coming to state Medicaid programs and patients who want to pay cash for some prescriptions.

The White House announced Thursday that it was asking Congress to pass legislation to support his Great Healthcare Plan. During a press call, Dr. Mehmet Oz, who leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, claimed the plan would “codify” what was in the individually-negotiated drug company deals.

What we know about the deals

Details are hard to come by since the administration’s deal documents haven’t been made public.

During the press conferences, health and White House officials mentioned the companies had made commitments for Medicaid discounts — but that’s something the program already gets, says Dr. Ben Rome, a health policy researcher at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

The deals also included pledges for future drugs to be launched at the same price in other wealthy countries as in the U.S.

Some medications will be offered at discounted prices to customers who pay in cash through a new platform called TrumpRx.gov. However, these efforts do not impact the pricing of many products from pharmaceutical companies, affecting only a small portion of healthcare consumers and insurance plans.

According to Rome, these deals are not significant in terms of overall drug pricing by manufacturers or the prices paid by most Americans for prescription medications.

Pfizer, which initiated the first deal with the Trump administration in September, increased the prices of 72 products in January, including a 15% rise in the cost of its COVID vaccine, as reported by 46brooklyn.

In response to the price increases, Pfizer stated that the adjustments were modest and necessary to fund the development of new medicines and cover additional expenses. The company highlighted that despite the list price hikes, the actual prices paid to Pfizer by insurance companies have decreased after factoring in discounts, rebates, and other programs.

Merck also raised prices on 18 products, such as Isentress for HIV and Belsomra for insomnia, according to data from 46brooklyn. The New Jersey-based company defended these price adjustments as responsible decisions reflecting the clinical value of the products to patients and the healthcare system.

Reductions in Drug Prices

46brooklyn’s data revealed 18 significant price reductions in the early days of the year, including four drugs affected by the initial round of Medicare drug price negotiations introduced by the Biden administration. These negotiations resulted in lower drug prices for Medicare patients, prompting speculation about potential price decreases for privately-insured individuals.

One of the notable price cuts was a 75% reduction in the commercial market for Fiasp, an insulin product. Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer, aimed to enhance affordability for patients by also reducing the prices of other drugs.

AstraZeneca’s Farxiga, Boehringer Ingelheim’s Jardiance, and Bristol Myers Squibb’s Eliquis witnessed price drops ranging from 37% to 44%. These reductions were part of various initiatives to make these medications more accessible to individuals with diabetes, heart failure, and other conditions.

While there are multiple factors influencing a company’s decision to decrease prices, Ciaccia from 46brooklyn suggested that Medicare drug price negotiations played a significant role in prompting these adjustments.

Dr. Ben Rome expressed uncertainty about attributing specific drug price changes to any single policy, emphasizing that it is likely a combination of factors influencing pharmaceutical companies’ decisions.

Following the initial negotiations in 2024, Medicare drug prices for ten selected medications were reduced by 38% to 79%, with the discounts taking effect in January 2026. The latest report illustrates a varied outcome for these drugs outside of the Medicare program, with some experiencing significant price reductions, while others remained unchanged or had price increases.

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