President Donald Trump, joined by National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Jay Bhattacharya, speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on May 12, 2025, in Washington, DC. Andrew Harnik | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesPresident Donald Trump on Monday moved forward with a plan to lower U.S. drug costs by linking prices to those paid in other developed countries – a proposal he will have a tough time putting into effect, experts said.Trump signed a sweeping executive order directing several federal agencies to renew that effort to cut prices, called the “most favored nation” policy. It essentially aims to tie the prices of some medicines in the U.S. to significantly lower ones abroad, or what Trump described as “equalizing” prices. He did not disclose which exact medications the order will apply to, but said it will affect the commercial market as well as the public Medicare and Medicaid programs. That’s broader than a similar policy proposal from Trump’s first term, which was ultimately blocked in court after the pharmaceutical industry challenged it. Trump is taking aim at a longstanding issue that past administrations have also tried to confront: U.S. prescription drug prices are two to three times higher on average than those in other developed nations – and up to 10 times more than in certain countries, according to the Rand Corporation, a public policy think tank.The president claimed the order will help lower drug prices between 59% and 80%, or “I guess even 90%.” But health policy experts said it is still unclear how much the policy could reduce prices for patients, how much it will affect drugmakers’ profits, which medicines will be targeted — and whether Trump can even put the plan into effect in the first place.Investors seemed to shrug Monday about how much the plan would hit major drugmakers. Shares of Gilead rose 7%, Merck climbed 5%, Pfizer, Bristol Myers Squibb and Amgen climbed more than 3% and Eli Lilly rose more than 2%.JPMorgan analysts on Monday called the policy “challenging to practically implement” because it would likely require congressional approval and could run into legal challenges from drugmakers. Notably, several Republican lawmakers opposed incl …
