Trump Administration Issues New Executive Order on Prescription Drug Pricing

• On May 12, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) requiring agencies to take steps to encourage manufacturers to provide most-favored-nation pricing for prescription drugs.
  • “Most-favored-nation pricing” (MFN Pricing) is not defined in the EO, but the EO says Americans “pay almost three times more” than purchasers elsewhere.
  • If drug manufacturers “fail to offer American consumers the most-favored-nation lowest price,” the Administration will take “additional aggressive action.”
• MFN pricing. The Domestic Policy Council, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and “other relevant administration officials” must communicate price targets to manufacturers within 30 days of the EO.
  • If significant progress toward these target prices is not made within 180 days, the Secretary must propose a rule to impose MFN pricing and consider certifying that the personal importation of drugs “will pose no additional risk to the public’s health and safety, and result in a significant reduction in the cost of prescription drugs to the American consume.”  The Secretary must also consider the circumstances under which he can consistently grant waivers to import drugs from countries used to determine the MFN price.
• Direct to Consumer (DTC) Sales. The EO directs the HHS Secretary to “consider facilitating” DTC sales of products at MFN pricing.
• Anticompetition Enforcement. After the release of the FTC report on anticompetitive pricing described in section 13 of the original April 15 drug pricing EO—which is due by October—this EO directs the FTC to “consider” enforcement against anticompetitive practices identified in that report.

More on This Topic: 

• New EO
• Fact Sheet
• Prior EO on drug pricing (April 15)

For questions, please reach out to Vicky Jucelin.