Ruben Gallego Continues Demanding Answers on Pharmaceutical Companies' Deals with Trump

Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) is continuing to demand answers from various drug companies that have worked with the Trump Administration to lower prices, asking how they intend to do so.

As Cactus Politics has previously covered, Sen. Gallego first raised his concerns after pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced a deal with the White House in October , stating Medicaid programs can access drugs at prices equivalent to the lowest paid in other developed countries ("most favored nation").

"While the White House touted the agreement as a win for patients, neither the Administration nor Pfizer has disclosed which drugs are covered, what prices have been agreed to, or how patients will benefit," Sen. Gallego questioned in a letter to Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla.

In November, two other major companies, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, announced a similar plan that allows them to sell Zepbound and Mounjaro, which are used to treat type 2 diabetes and help induce weight loss, through the TrumpRx system at reduced prices equivalent to the lowest paid in other developed countries ("most favored nation"), which buyers pay for out of pocket.

As with the Pfizer deal, Sen. Gallego asked for details, saying that while he supports expanding Medicaid coverage for the drugs, "It raises concern that few details about this deal have been made public, and that in return for this arrangement, Eli Lilly will receive a three-year exemption from Section 232 tariffs," he said.

Nine additional companies, including Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Genentech, Gilead Sciences, GSK, Novartis, Merck, and Sanofi, have reached similar agreements with the Trump Administration to sell products through the TrumpRx system.

However, the Arizona Senator insists these companies provide greater disclosure about the nature of these agreements.

"It raises concern that to date, the public has been provided with only limited details, despite the significance of this arrangement for millions of patients, and that in return for this arrangement [these companies] will get a three-year exemption from Section 232 tariffs," Gallego wrote to these companies, adding, "As currently described, this model would require patients to bypass their insurance and pay cash for medications — often at high out-of-pocket costs. Given that many insured patients already have lower copays or coinsurance than the proposed TrumpRx discounts, it is unclear how this platform would provide meaningful relief. In fact, it may increase costs for patients."