Feb 19 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump will meet

on Thursday with chief executives from major drugmakers, a White

House official confirmed to Reuters on Wednesday, as the

industry tries to win government support for drug pricing and

insurance changes.

The meeting is expected to cover topics including Medicare

drug price negotiations, the role of pharmacy benefit managers,

and tariffs on pharmaceutical products, according to an industry

source with knowledge of the matter.

The White House did not say who would be attending, but

Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that the meeting will include

Stephen Ubl, head of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers

of America, the main lobby group for drugmakers.

Drugmakers, which are grappling with a wild card from Trump

of a possible 25% tariff on pharmaceutical imports, have been

exploring the possibility of government-granted exemptions for

medicines to import duties.

Republican U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike

Johnson said last week that he believed Trump was considering

exemptions to reciprocal tariffs that include the automobile and

pharmaceutical industries.

Drugmakers have been hoping to change a Biden-era law that

allows Medicare, the government health plan for Americans aged

65 and up, to negotiate prices for its costliest medicines,

including Novo Nordisk's popular weight-loss drug

Wegovy.

The industry is also pushing for curbs on the rebates they

pay pharmacy benefit managers, which act as middlemen between

drug companies and consumers, in exchange for favorable

placement on insurer coverage lists. They argue that these

rebates contribute to the high price of prescription drugs.

Trump previously met with Ubl and chief executives of U.S.

drugmakers Pfizer ( PFE ) and Eli Lilly ( LLY ) at his

Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in December, according to reports.