Sept 30 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump, who has long

argued that the U.S. pays more than it should for prescription

medicines, on Tuesday said Pfizer ( PFE ) had agreed to cut

prices for drugs it sells to the Medicaid program for low-income

Americans and to ensure the U.S. would not pay more for new

medicines than other high-income nations. Trump said he expects

other drugmakers to follow suit.

Here are details of the agreement:

THE "TRUMPRX" WEBSITE

Early next year the U.S. government plans to launch a

website called TrumpRx that will help consumers search for a

drug to see if they can buy it directly from its manufacturer.

Nearly all of these existing direct-to-consumer sales platforms

require patients to buy their medicines out-of-pocket, usually

at a higher cost than they would pay if they had health

insurance. That is very different from filling a prescription at

a pharmacy that handles insurance claims, charging the patient

only a flat co-pay or a percentage of the drug's cost. For

people without health insurance, drugmakers often offer

lower-cost or free drug programs.

MORE PRICE CUTS FOR MEDICAID

Pfizer pledged to reduce prices for a majority of its treatments

covered by Medicaid, the joint federal and state health

insurance program for low-income individuals and families. There

were few details on timing and discount amounts.

Drugmakers are already required by statute to give Medicaid,

which accounts for about 10% of U.S. drug spending, substantial

discounts off the lowest available price for a medication.

The Trump administration did not say whether lower Medicaid

prices would also impact the more substantial pharmaceutical

sales passing through commercial insurers or other government

plans, including Medicare.

MOST-FAVORED NATION PRICING

Pfizer also committed to launch new drugs at the same price in

the United States as in other high-income countries.

Studies have shown that the U.S. pays more than three times as

much for brand-name pharmaceuticals as other wealthy countries.

U.S. prices for newly launched pharmaceuticals more than doubled

last year to $370,000 from $180,000 in 2021, as companies

leveraged scientific advances to develop more therapies for rare

diseases, which typically command high prices, a Reuters

analysis found.

Some drugmakers had already pledged to bring launch prices more

into alignment. Bristol Myers last week said it would launch

schizophrenia drug Cobenfy in Britain next year at a price

matching its U.S. list price. The drug, as is often the case in

with new pharmaceuticals, was approved in the United States some

18 months before its anticipated UK launch.

Questions remained about whether any announced prices would

be final prices or whether drugmakers could still offer

confidential discounts to governments or other buyers.

The Trump administration said it would press other

countries to pay more for medications, allowing drugmakers to

fund additional research and development work. Other governments

have bristled at the idea that they should pay more for branded

drugs, although there has been talk of concessions.

A RETURN ON PFIZER'S INVESTMENT

Trump has said he will impose a 100% tariff on imports of

branded or patented pharmaceutical products from October 1,

unless a drugmaker is building a manufacturing plant in the U.S.

Pfizer ( PFE ) pledged to onshore 100% of the value of all imports

that it currently brings into the United States, and in return

the company will receive a three-year grace period during which

its products will not be subject to pharmaceutical-targeted

tariffs.