‘Cut prices or face consequences’: US President Donald Trump warns pharma companies in public letters

US President Donald Trump has issued a direct warning to top pharmaceutical companies, demanding they slash drug prices or face action.The letters, posted publicly on Trump’s Truth Social platform, give the companies 60 days to work with his administration to implement changes aimed at lowering the cost of prescription drugs.“If you refuse to step up we will deploy every tool in our arsenal to protect American families from continued abusive drug pricing practices,” Trump wrote, though he did not specify what penalties the companies could face.White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasised, “President Trump believes the American people deserve affordable access to life-saving drugs. These letters make clear: cut the prices, or face the consequences.”This move follows an executive order Trump signed in May to address the high cost of medicines in the US, which are more than three times higher than prices in similarly developed countries, according to the White House.In the letters, Trump criticized pharmaceutical companies for shifting blame and enacting policies that benefit the industry rather than consumers.Central to Trump’s plan is a “Most Favored Nation” policy, which would tie US drug prices to the lowest prices paid by other countries for the same medications. He also wants this pricing to extend to drugs used by Medicaid recipients, primarily older Americans, and to new drugs entering the market.“Americans are demanding lower drug prices and they need them today,” Trump wrote, reinforcing the urgent call for reform.