Jan 12 (Reuters) - AbbVie said on Monday that it has struck a three-year deal with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to reduce drug prices, and has pledged $100 billion over the next decade
for research and development in the country.
The drugmaker said the investment will include manufacturing and will expand direct-to-patient offerings through TrumpRx for widely used medicines such as Alphagan, Combigan, Humira and Synthroid.
This three-year agreement provides AbbVie with exemption from tariffs and future pricing mandates, the company said, adding that further terms of the deal remain confidential.
The Trump administration has been pressing drugmakers to lower prices, as Americans often pay nearly three times more for prescription medicines than patients in other developed nations.
In December, the administration reached agreements with several other major pharmaceutical companies, including Roche, Merck and Gilead, to cut the prices of their medicines for the government's Medicaid program and for cash-paying consumers.
Most Americans with health insurance pay for drugs with set co-pays or co-insurance based on the list price. They may not be helped by TrumpRx, which will direct customers to drugmakers' websites, where they will sell their products to cash-pay customers.
(Reporting by Ruchika Khanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese and Alan Barona)
