By Maggie Fick
LONDON (Reuters) -AstraZeneca said on Friday it will sell its diabetes and asthma drugs direct to cash-paying U.S. patients at a discount of up to 70% off list prices, the latest pharma company to do so after pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Anglo-Swedish company, Britain’s biggest by market value, said uninsured or underinsured patients with prescriptions will be able to buy their Farxiga treatment for diabetes for $182 starting October 1.
That is the same price as Medicare
and Medicaid patients will pay from January 1 next year, AstraZeneca said, and is 70% below the list price.
Asthma drug Airsupra will be sold for $249, about 50% below the list price, the company said.
Patients will also be able to order the nasal spray flu vaccine FluMist from the new AstraZeneca Direct website.
Farxiga is one of AstraZeneca's best-selling products, bringing in $7.7 billion in global sales in 2024, about 14% of total revenue. Airsupra made $66 million last year.
The company will ship the medicines to patients' homes, sidestepping pharmacies, insurers and the pharmacy benefit managers Trump accuses of ripping off Americans. It said in a statement that the new service is "an important step forward in offering patients the medication they need, when and how they need it".
It was not immediately clear how much patients would benefit from direct sales of these medicines. Reuters could not determine what percentage of patients taking the medicines are currently covered through commercial or Medicare health plans.
The new initiative aims to "address a genuine care gap for patients who have a prescription but cannot access Farxiga and Airsupra", an AstraZeneca spokesperson said, adding that the Direct website complements existing programmes that help a significant number of eligible patients access their prescribed medication at no or reduced costs.
TRUMP PRESSES FOR LOWER AMERICAN DRUG PRICES
In a July letter, Trump gave drugmakers until September 29 to propose binding commitments to cut U.S. prices to levels seen in other wealthy countries, having argued that Americans often pay up to three times more for medicines and that the U.S. has long been footing the bill for cheaper prices abroad. An executive order in May also called for more direct-to-consumer sales.
Trump on Thursday announced sweeping new import tariffs, including 100% duties on prescription drugs, set to come into force next week. However, major European pharma stocks were little changed on Friday, reflecting hopes that the 15% tariffs agreed in a U.S.-EU trade deal would hold.
DIRECT SALES
Other drugmakers are also scrambling to launch direct-sales programmes after talks with the Trump administration on affordability.
U.S. rivals Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer rolled out similar services in July for their blood thinner Eliquis, and on Thursday BMS announced another direct-to-consumer deal.
Drugmakers have not traditionally sold medicines directly to patients but Eli Lilly launched a service last year for its weight-loss drug Zepbound, and Novo Nordisk followed this year with one for Wegovy.
Insured patients typically make co-payments for branded drugs that vary from $25 to $75 or that are based on a percentage of the list price. Some plans require patients to cover the entire cost until they meet a deductible.
As part of its strategy to boost domestic production amid rising tariff pressure, AstraZeneca also recently announced a $50 billion U.S. investment plan by 2030 — including a new drug-substance manufacturing facility in Virginia, its largest single manufacturing facility investment globally.
(Reporting by Maggie Fick;Editing by Josephine Mason, Kirsten Donovan)
