United States President Donald Trump has unveiled a second deal with a major pharmaceutical company to offer lower-cost prescription drugs direct to American consumers.This time, the agreement concerned AstraZeneca, a multinational based in the United Kingdom.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listTrump hosted the company’s chief executive, Pascal Soriot, in the Oval Office on Friday to publicly cement the deal, which he described as “another historic achievement in our quest to lower drug prices for all Americans”.“Americans can expect discounts, and as I said, it could be, in many cases, way over a hundred percent,” Trump said.As in previous press appearances, he pledged US consumers would see impossible discounts on popular medications.Inhalers to treat asthma, for example, would be discounted by 654 percent, Trump said, calling the device a “drug that’s hot, very hot”. He also reiterated past claims that some medications could see “a thousand percent reduction”.Trump has long pushed to reduce prescription drug costs to what he has billed as “most-favoured nations prices”.That would bring prices down to the same level as in other developed countries, though Trump, with typical hyperbole, has said the policy would equate to “the lowest price anywhere in the world”. AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot looks to President Donald Trump in the Oval Office [Alex Brandon/AP Photo]AstraZeneca is the second major pharmaceutical compa …
