J&J strikes deal with US government to cut drug prices, gain tariff exemptions

Johnson & Johnson said on Thursday that it has reached an agreement with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to cut drug prices for Americans in exchange for exemptions from U.S. tariffs.

The Trump administration in December reached agreements with nine other major pharmaceutical companies to cut the prices of their medicines for the government’s Medicaid program and for cash-paying consumers, aiming to bring U.S. drug costs in line with those in other wealthy countries.

U.S. patients currently pay far more for prescription medicines, often nearly three times more than in other developed nations, and Trump has been pressuring drugmakers to lower prices to levels paid abroad.

“The joint agreement meets the requests laid out by President Trump to the industry and provides the company’s pharmaceutical products an exemption from tariffs,” J&J said in a statement on Thursday.

Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed, including details on revised drug prices or which medicines are covered.

J&J said that it will participate in the TrumpRx.gov website to allow Americans to purchase its drugs at significantly discounted rates. It will also provide Medicaid access at prices comparable with those in other developed countries.

Under the December deals, all nine U.S. drugmakers agreed to lower prices on most drugs sold to the Medicaid program for low-income people, promising “massive savings” on widely used medicines.

J&J also said that it will build two new manufacturing facilities in North Carolina and Pennsylvania as part of its $55 billion U.S. investment plan announced last year.

The company said it’s likely to announce additional U.S. investments later this year.