United States President Donald Trump, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have unveiled a deal to slash the prices of popular GLP-1 weight‑loss drugs for the government’s Medicare and Medicaid programme, as well as for cash payers.The deal, announced on Thursday, is aimed at increasing access to treatments through US Medicare for people aged 65 and above and the Medicaid programme for low-income people, which together provide healthcare coverage for nearly half of all Americans.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listUS patients currently pay by far the most for prescription medicines, often nearly three times more than in other developed nations, and Trump has been pressuring drugmakers to lower their prices to what patients pay elsewhere.“It’s going to equalise the world,” Trump told reporters from the Oval Office, noting that Lilly and Novo would be providing their other medications to Medicaid at “most-favoured-nation” prices.The event ended abruptly when an attendee in the Oval Office collapsed.Starter doses of rival weight‑loss pills being developed by Lilly and Novo, if approved, will cost $149 per month for all Medicare and Medicaid enrollees and via the White House’s new direct-to-consumer site, TrumpRx, senior administration officials said.For currently available injectable GLP-1s used for diabetes and other covered health issues, prices would fall to $245 per month for patients with Medicare or Medicaid, they said.On TrumpRx, the average price of injectables and pills wil …
