06:06 AM EDT, 08/01/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Pharmaceutical stocks were lower pre-bell Friday after President Donald Trump sent letters to pharmaceutical companies asking them to lower drug prices in the US.

Eli Lilly ( LLY ) retreated 0.5%, Sanofi ( SNY ) fell 1.4%, Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) was down 0.1%, Merck ( MRK ) lost 0.3%, AstraZeneca ( AZN ) retreated 1.6%, Pfizer ( PFE ) was down 0.5% and Gilead Sciences ( GILD ) lost 0.5%. Meanwhile, GSK (GSK) slipped 0.2%, Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) fell 2.4% and AbbVie ( ABBV ) declined 0.1%.

Trump wrote public letters to 17 drugmakers asking them to provide most-favored-nation prices to every Medicaid patient and to guarantee such pricing for newly launched drugs.

The companies have been given until Sept. 29 to respond with binding commitments to the goals set out in the letters.