President Trump Takes On 'big Pharma' By Signing Executive Order To Lower Drug Prices

President Donald Trump declared Monday that nan U.S. "will nary longer tolerate profiteering and value gouging from Big Pharma" arsenic he signed an executive bid implementing what his management is calling "most favored nations supplier pricing." 

"The rule is elemental – immoderate nan lowest value paid for a supplier successful different developed countries, that is nan value that Americans will pay," Trump said astatine nan White House. "Some medicine supplier and pharmaceutical prices will beryllium reduced almost instantly by 50 to 80 to 90%." 

Trump said that "starting today, nan United States will nary longer subsidize nan healthcare of overseas countries, which is what we were doing. We're subsidizing others’ healthcare, nan countries wherever they paid a mini fraction of what for nan aforesaid supplier that what we salary many, galore times much for and will nary longer tolerate profiteering and value gouging from Big Pharma." 

"Even though nan United States is location to only 4% of nan world's population, pharmaceutical companies make much than 2 thirds of their profits successful America. So deliberation of that pinch 4% of nan population, nan pharmaceutical companies make astir of their money. Most of their profits from America. That's not a bully thing," Trump continued.  

TRUMP SAYS HE WILL SLASH DRUG PRICES WITH EXECUTIVE ORDER

U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., left, speaks during a swearing successful ceremonial for Dr. Mehmet Oz arsenic nan Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator successful nan Oval Office astatine nan White House connected April 18. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

"I think, by nan way, pharmaceutical – I person awesome respect for these companies and for nan group that tally them. I really do, and I deliberation they did 1 of nan top jobs successful history for their company, convincing group for galore years that this was a adjacent system. Nobody really understood why, but I figured it out. For years, pharmaceutical and supplier companies person said that investigation and improvement costs were what they are, and for nary logic whatsoever, they had to beryllium borne by America alone," Trump said. "Not anymore, they don't." 

The White House said nan executive bid "directs nan U.S. Trade Representative and Secretary of Commerce to return action to guarantee overseas countries are not engaged successful practices that purposefully and unfairly undercut marketplace prices and thrust value hikes successful nan United States.

"The Order instructs nan Administration to pass value targets to pharmaceutical manufacturers to found that America, nan largest purchaser and funder of medicine narcotics successful nan world, gets nan champion deal," nan White House said.

"The Secretary of Health and Human Services will found a system done which American patients tin bargain their narcotics straight from manufacturers who waste to Americans astatine a ‘Most-Favored-Nation’ price, bypassing middlemen," nan White House added. "If supplier manufacturers neglect to connection most-favored-nation pricing, nan Order directs nan Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) propose rules that enforce most-favored-nation pricing; and (2) return different fierce measures to importantly trim nan costs of medicine narcotics to nan American user and extremity anticompetitive practices."

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nan U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, said alongside Trump, "I ne'er thought that this would hap successful my lifetime."

"I person a mates of kids who are Democrats, are large Bernie Sanders fans. And erstwhile I told them that this was going to happen, they had tears successful their eyes. Because they thought, this is ne'er going to happen," he said. "And we yet person a president who is consenting to guidelines up for nan American people." 

MAHA CAUCUS MEMBER PLEDGES HEARINGS INTO ‘CORRUPTION’ OF A PUBLIC HEALTH SECTOR ‘CAPTURED BY BIG PHARMA’

Bottles of medicine thrust connected a loop astatine a mail-in drugstore storage successful Florence, N.J., successful July 2018. (AP/Julio Cortez)

Trump said earlier this greeting that supplier prices would beryllium "cut by 59%." 

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) waste and acquisition group opposes nan order, saying, "This Foreign First Pricing strategy is simply a bad woody for American patients." 

"Importing overseas prices will trim billions of dollars from Medicare pinch nary guarantee that it helps patients aliases improves their entree to medicines," nan group’s president, Stephen Ubl, said successful a connection provided to Fox News Digital. "It will jeopardize nan hundreds of billions our personnel companies are readying to put successful America, making america much reliant connected China for innovative medicines." 

President Donald Trump signs executive orders successful nan Oval Office of nan White House connected Jan. 20, successful Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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"To little costs for Americans, we request to reside nan existent reasons U.S. patients are paying much for their medicines. We are nan only state successful nan world that lets PBMs, insurers and hospitals return 50% of each dollar spent connected medicines," Ubl besides said. "In fact, infirmary markups successful 340B and nan rebates and fees paid to middlemen successful nan U.S. often transcend nan full costs of medicines oversees. Giving much of this money to patients will little their medicine costs and trim nan spread pinch European prices." 

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.