Trump announces plan to lower cost of IVF drugs
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Trump delivers remarks before signing an executive order on expanding access to IVF at his Mar-a-Lago resort in February. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
The White House on Thursday announced measures aimed at expanding access to in vitro fertilization, including a new "most-favored nation" pricing deal with the manufacturer of a leading fertility drug.
Why it matters: The effort combines two Trump priorities: lowering drug prices and making IVF treatment more affordable.
- The procedure is often not fully covered by insurance, with roughly a quarter of employers reporting coverage of IVF for their workers.
Driving the news: The White House announced a deal with EMD Serono — part of the German drugmaker Merck KGaA — that calls for listing three of its injectable IVF therapies on the government's TrumpRx portal starting in January.
- Patients will receive an 84% discount off list prices when all three are used in tandem as part of a typical protocol, the company said.
- EMD Serono agreed to similar pricing terms that the administration made in recent deals with Pfizer and AstraZeneca, including "most-favored nation" pricing on new drugs and those sold to state Medicaid programs, the source said.
- As part of the agreement, EMD Serono will seek expedited FDA review of a new combination therapy called Pergoveris that contains two hormones used in the IVF process.
- The company also entered in an agreement with the Commerce Department that excludes its products and ingredients from Section 232 tariffs if it invests in future manufacturing and research in the U.S.
Context: In February, Trump ordered policy recommendations to reduce the costs for accessing IVF, which can range from $12,000 to $25,000 per cycle.
- Trump has allied himself with "pro-natalist" policies to encourage a new baby boom and endorsed assisted reproductive services in March when he called himself the "fertilization president."
- But the administration's involvement has spurred anti-abortion conservatives to call for new guardrails that could greatly limit the use of the treatment.
How it works: The procedure is politically fraught, because IVF generally involves the creation of more human embryos than are needed, in order to improve the odds of a pregnancy.
- Many surplus embryos are discarded — a practice some anti-abortion forces liken to assisted suicide and abortion.
- The February order didn't address Trump's campaign promise to mandate that the government or insurance companies cover the cost of IVF for "all Americans that need it."
Trump has been demanding commitments from big drugmakers to lower their U.S. prices by committing to the most favored nation policy he laid out in a May executive order.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with details of the agreement.
