Report Finds Drugmakers Raised Prices Despite Trump Deals

Apr 16, 2026

A Senate Democrats report released Thursday found that pharmaceutical companies raised prices on hundreds of medications despite drug pricing deals signed with President Donald Trump that he claimed would reduce prescription costs. Companies that signed the agreements increased their combined profits from $107 billion to $177 billion in 2025 and launched new drugs at an average price of $353,000 per year, with some treatments like Novartis' Itvisma costing $2.59 million. The report documented dramatic price disparities, showing drugs like Merck's Keytruda costing $210,000 annually in the U.S. versus $37,900 in Japan. Health policy experts criticized the deals as primarily benefiting drug companies, noting that discounts offered on TrumpRx.gov mirror those already available on existing sites like GoodRx, while details of the Trump agreements remain unclear.

Trump's Drug Pricing Deals Failed to Lower Costs

▪Sen. Bernie Sanders released the drug pricing report as ranking member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee ahead of a hearing focused on drug prices.

Specific Price Increases on Major Medications

▪Kesimpta costs $17,300 per year in Germany and $23,500 per year in Canada.
▪Opdivo costs $90,300 per year in France and $113,000 per year in the United Kingdom.
▪The annual list price of Opdivo, Bristol Myers Squibb's immunotherapy, rose 4% to $260,000.
▪Novartis' Zolgensma, a gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy, increased by nearly $200,000 to more than $2.5 million for a single course of treatment.
▪Keytruda costs $37,900 per year in Japan and $88,100 per year in France according to the Senate Democrats report.
▪Novartis' Kesimpta, a multiple sclerosis drug, increased by nearly $10,500 to $141,000 a year according to the Senate Democrats report.
▪Pfizer increased the price of Vizimpro, a lung cancer drug, by about 5% to about $208,000 a year according to the Senate Democrats report.
▪The list price of Keytruda, a Merck cancer treatment, rose by 6% to about $210,000 a year in the U.S.

High-Priced New Drug Launches and Company Profits

▪Novartis' Itvisma, a one-time gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy, has a list price of about $2.59 million.
▪Companies that signed deals with Trump launched new medications at an average price of $353,000 a year according to the Senate Democrats report.
▪Companies that signed deals with Trump made a combined $177 billion in profits in 2025, up from $107 billion the year before.
▪Johnson & Johnson's cancer drug Inlexzo launched at a price of about $1 million according to the Senate Democrats report.
▪AbbVie's cancer drug Emrelis launched at a price of about $719,000 according to the Senate Democrats report.