UK-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has signed a drug pricing deal with the US government, becoming the second industry titan to do so this month.
After convening with President Donald Trump at the White House, the company’s CEO, Pascal Soriot, shook hands with the president on drug price reductions of up to 80% within its chronic disease portfolio.
The agreement will see AstraZeneca provide three branded respiratory medications to cash-paying patients at a concession through the US government’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) platform, TrumpRx.gov, which is set to launch in January 2026.
Medications tied to the deal include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) meds Bevespi Aerosphere (glycopyrrolate/formoterol fumarate) and Breztri Aerosphere (budesonide/glycopyrrolate/formoterol fumarate), as well as asthma treatment, Airspura (albuterol 90 mcg/budesonide 80 mcg). All three drugs will also be available to State Medicaid programmes at MFN prices.
In return for penning a deal with the Trump administration, AstraZeneca will escape three years’ worth of 100% branded pharmaceutical import tariffs, which were threatened in September 2025. Though these taxes were set to come into effect on 1 October, they are yet to be implemented amid Trump’s ongoing pricing negotiations with the industry.
In a 10 October statement, AstraZeneca noted that a tariff exemption will allow it to “fully onshore medicines manufacturing” to the US, meaning that all its branded products sold in America will be produced on home soil.
The UK-Swedish pharma will achieve this through a $50bn investment into its American operations, which will see it pour $4.5bn into a new drug production facility in Virginia – the biggest manufacturing investment in the company’s history.
Following its US onshoring push, AstraZeneca forecasts to attain $80bn in total revenue by 2030, of which half will come from US drug sales.
MFN deals gain traction
AstraZeneca has now become the second big pharma along with Pfizer to close a Most Favoured Nation (MFN) deal with the US government, marking another potential shift in global drug pricing policy.
According to the Trump administration, MFN deals will see US patients gain access to branded pharmaceuticals for cheaper. This would likely be welcome news for them, as many are struggling to pay sky-high prescription costs compared with other developed nations worldwide.
Pfizer’s CEO, Albert Bourla broke the stalemate between big pharma and Trump earlier this month. Bourla offered up a select range of the pharma company’s branded drugs through the TrumpRx.gov platform for 50% less, on average, than their respective list prices.
However, analysts at GlobalData, parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology, are sceptical about the impact MFN drug pricing deals will have on healthcare costs, as many choose to obtain prescriptions through an insurance plan, which already offers concessions.
While the true impact of MFN deals on drug pricing are yet to be seen, Cyrus Fan, healthcare and life sciences analyst at GlobalData noted that "more deals will likely be announced soon," citing Amgen as the potential third company to reach a deal with the Trump administration.
GlobalData is the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology.
Meanwhile, on the R&D front, key opinion leaders (KOLs) note that rising MFN costs are unlikely to impact the space, while Ambassador Jeffrey Gerrish, deputy US Trade Representative for Asia, Europe and the Middle East noted that the move could actually “turbocharge R&D investments” in the future.
Editor's note: This article was amended on 13 October, 2025 to add comment from healthcare and life science analyst at GlobalData, Cyrus Fan.
