On Sunday, President Donald Trump vowed to slash prescription drug prices through a sweeping executive order.
What Happened: Trump took to Truth Social and announced plans to sign a new executive order. Under what he called a "most favored nation" pricing policy, the President said the executive order will ensure that "the United States will pay the same price as the Nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the World."
Screenshot From President Donald Trump’s Truth Social Account
He added that prescription drug prices would drop "almost immediately, by 30% to 80%," and called the move "one of the most consequential Executive Orders in our Country's history."
In response, a user on X, formerly Twitter, expressed skepticism, saying, "It would be nice if Trump’s super important post about drug prices was really achievable. I think all Democrats would agree… But like most things Trump brags about, they are pie-in-the-sky promises that can’t and won’t actually materialize."
That's where billionaire entrepreneur and Cost Plus Drugs founder Mark Cuban stepped in. Cuban acknowledged the ambition of Trump's plan but highlighted a more attainable path forward.
"I don't know if he can force the price, but he can force transparency, and that will help," Cuban wrote.
Why It's Important: Last month, Trump issued a multi-part executive order targeting drug pricing transparency and Medicare cost reduction.
Earlier this month, he signed another executive order directing the Food and Drug Administration to expedite approvals for domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities.
The Invesco Pharmaceuticals ETF (NYSE:PJP) and iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF (NYSE:IHE) rose 2.61% and 2.81%, respectively, over the past month.
Price Action: In after-hours trading, Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO) was up 0.20%, while Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE:LLY) and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) increased by 0.32% and 0.13%, respectively. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) also saw a modest gain of 0.12%, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
Photo Courtesy: PeopleImages.com – Yuri A On Shutterstock.com
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.