Pharma Companies Seek Deals to Avoid Trump's Drug Pricing Schemes

Smaller drugmakers look to craft their own agreements with White House to avoid potential tariffs and new price-setting programs.

Published on Feb. 11, 2026

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Some pharmaceutical companies not targeted by President Donald Trump for drug pricing agreements are looking to craft their own deals in an attempt to avoid potentially onerous tariffs and new price-setting schemes, according to industry sources. Companies are concerned about new Medicare pilot programs that could set prices for drugs paid for by the Medicare health plan based on international price levels.

Why it matters

The Trump administration has already struck deals with 16 of the largest drugmakers to lower U.S. drug prices, but many smaller and mid-sized companies have not been contacted. These companies are worried they will be subject to the administration's new price-setting initiatives, which could force them to significantly cut prices on drugs sold through Medicare, the much larger health program for Americans 65 and older.

The details

Companies have begun reaching out to contacts at the White House and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to try to create their own deals, though the administration has not communicated how they can proceed if they did not receive a directive letter from Trump. The new Medicare pilot programs would require manufacturer rebates for drugs paid for by Medicare if U.S. prices exceed international levels. Smaller drugmakers are concerned they may have fewer lower-revenue products to offer in deals compared to larger companies.

  • On February 11, 2026, Reuters reported on the pharmaceutical companies' efforts to craft their own pricing deals with the White House.

The players

Donald Trump

The former U.S. president who initiated the drug pricing agreements with large pharmaceutical companies.

Kush Desai

A White House spokesman who stated the administration wants to negotiate deals to lower drug prices with every pharmaceutical company.

Stefan Oelrich

The global head of pharmaceuticals at Bayer, who expects companies that did not receive letters from Trump will be given the opportunity to strike similar deals.

Paul Hudson

The CEO of Sanofi, who expressed concern that the nature of the deals struck with larger companies could make it difficult for the government to offer similar options to smaller companies.

Midsized Biotech Alliance of America

An industry lobby group formed by 11 smaller pharmaceutical companies, including Alkermes, BioMarin, Incyte and Alnylam, to advocate against the new price-setting schemes.

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What they’re saying

“The Trump administration of course wants to negotiate deals that meaningfully lower drug prices for American patients with every pharmaceutical company.”

— Kush Desai, White House spokesman (Reuters)

“Otherwise that would be very odd, that only because you have size that you would get different treatment.”

— Stefan Oelrich, Global Head of Pharmaceuticals, Bayer (Reuters)

“It's very difficult to deliver 30, 50, 80 deals from here. There may just be a sort of catch-all offer from the government or something to try and manage it a certain way.”

— Paul Hudson, CEO, Sanofi (Reuters)

What’s next

The White House has not communicated to companies how they can potentially proceed with their own drug pricing deals if they did not receive a directive letter from President Trump.

The takeaway

Smaller and mid-sized pharmaceutical companies are concerned they will be subject to the administration's new Medicare price-setting initiatives, which could force them to significantly cut prices, if they do not strike their own deals with the White House. This highlights the challenges facing the administration in extending its drug pricing agreements to the broader pharmaceutical industry.