Trump Drug Pricing Deals Name Nine Firms, but Teva Says Talks Continue

WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES — The White House says nine more drugmakers have agreed to MFN pricing, but Teva's own announcement describes an agreement that has yet to be finalized.

The White House announced agreements with nine additional pharmaceutical manufacturers on Monday under President Donald Trump's most-favored-nation drug-pricing initiative, but one of the companies named by the administration says its own negotiations have not yet produced a final agreement.

The White House identified Alcon, Astellas Pharma, BeOne Medicines, BridgeBio, CSL, Kyowa Kirin, Sun Pharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals and UCB as participants in what it called “nine new agreements.” It said the arrangements would give every state Medicaid program access to most-favored-nation, or MFN, prices on products made by the companies.

In its own August 31 announcement, the pharmaceutical company said it had reached a shared commitment with the Trump administration to reduce the cost of selected medicines for Medicaid patients. Crucially, Teva said the arrangement would support investment “when finalized,” language indicating that negotiations had not yet produced a completed agreement.

White House and Teva describe the deal differently

The difference is significant because the White House presents all nine companies as having entered agreements, without distinguishing Teva's status from that of the other eight manufacturers.

Its fact sheet says the nine arrangements bring the total number of pharmaceutical manufacturers with MFN deals to 26, which the administration says represents 89% of the branded drug market.

Teva's announcement does not characterize its arrangement as completed. Instead, its headline refers to an intent to reach an agreement, while the company says the proposed terms concern selected medicines for Americans covered by Medicaid.

That leaves an unresolved question over whether the administration is counting a commitment to finalize terms as a completed MFN agreement.

What the nine drug-pricing arrangements are supposed to do

Most-favored-nation pricing is intended to connect U.S. prices for certain medicines to lower prices available in comparable developed countries.

According to the White House, the newly announced arrangements cover medicines used for conditions including Parkinson's disease, hemophilia, glaucoma, macular degeneration, liver disease, skin disorders and several cancers.

The administration also says the nine manufacturers will offer MFN prices to every state Medicaid program and apply the approach to new innovative medicines they bring to market.

The announcement expands an initiative that began with a Pfizer agreement announced in September 2025 and subsequently included agreements with manufacturers including Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Gilead Sciences, Merck, Novartis and Sanofi. The White House says it now counts 26 manufacturers in the program.

Exact discounts and drug-by-drug terms remain unclear

What the announcement does not establish publicly is as important as what it does.

The White House says the latest agreements will generate billions of dollars in savings, but its August 31 fact sheet does not provide a company-by-company list of affected medicines, the MFN price assigned to each product or a detailed calculation showing how much individual Medicaid programs will save from these nine arrangements.

Reuters similarly reported that detailed terms were not disclosed, making the eventual financial effect difficult to independently assess from the information currently available.

The distinction matters because an administration estimate of future savings is not the same thing as an independently demonstrated reduction in government spending or a documented decrease in what an individual patient pays.

The administration has separately published an economic analysis projecting savings from its broader MFN policy framework. That analysis describes different approaches for medicines already on the market and future drug launches, but projections for the overall policy should not be treated as verified savings attributable specifically to Monday's nine-company announcement.

Manufacturers commit at least $19.6 billion to U.S. production

The White House says the nine companies collectively committed to at least $19.6 billion in U.S. manufacturing investment in the near term. Several manufacturers also agreed to provide pharmaceutical ingredients to the Strategic Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Reserve.

The administration says Teva is expected to contribute 45 metric tons of metronidazole and 4.8 tons of amlodipine. UCB is expected to provide 163 tons of levetiracetam, while Sun Pharma and Astellas are among the other companies identified as making contributions.

Those commitments are distinct from the drug-price concessions and should not be counted as direct consumer savings.

Medicaid savings will require evidence beyond the announcement

The next test for the policy is whether the administration releases enough information to measure its effect.

The White House's announcement establishes the administration's claim that eight companies plus Teva are joining an expanded MFN framework. Teva's own statement establishes that, from the company's perspective, its arrangement still required finalization as of August 31.

Drug-specific prices, implementation dates and independently measurable Medicaid savings remain important missing pieces.

Until those details are disclosed, claims about the magnitude of savings from the nine newly announced arrangements should be attributed to the administration rather than presented as independently established results.