AbbVie has reached a deal with Trump administration to join TrumpRx, a direct-to-patient platform with a goal to drug prices in the United States, in exchange for exemption from pharma import tariffs and any future pricing mandates.¹

Aside from offering lower prices in Medicaid, the company is also committing a total of $100 billion toward R&D and capital investments in the US over the next decade. This includes manufacturing efforts.

Which AbbVie drugs will be available through TrumpRx’s direct-to-patient platform?

Direct-to-patient services through the program will now be available for blockbuster drugs Alphagan, Combigan, Humira, and Synthroid.

"AbbVie's mission is to make a remarkable impact for the patients we serve around the world through our innovative medicines," commented Robert A. Michael, AbbVie’s chairman and CEO. “With approximately 29,000 US-based employees and products treating 16 million Americans annually, we understand the complexity and access challenges in our healthcare system. AbbVie is following President Trump's call to action by reaching this agreement, allowing us to collectively move beyond policies that harm American innovation. Thank you to President Trump and his team for their leadership to help deliver cost savings and supporting our efforts to deliver innovative treatments for American patients."

How does the agreement align with Trump’s most-favored-nation drug pricing policy?

These efforts date back to the summer of 2025, when President Trump issued letters to 17 of the largest pharmaceutical companies—including AbbVie—expressing urgency for making changes along the drug pricing front.

The letters—which all have the same wording—stem from an executive order (EO) he enacted in May that essentially proclaimed that pharma companies need to treat the United States as a most-favored nation (MFN) as it pertains to drug pricing. The EO notes that US drug prices need to be less than or equal to the drug’s lowest price in other nations, as a way of establishing fairness. The companies had 60 days to comply at the time.

This includes extending MFN pricing to Medicaid; guaranteeing MFN pricing for newly-launched drugs; returning increased revenues abroad to American patients and taxpayers; and providing for direct purchasing at MFN pricing. The companies who received a letter have until Sept. 29 to comply.

AbbVie's agreement reportedly addresses all of Trump’s drug pricing priorities.

What is the legal status of Trump’s pharmaceutical import tariffs?

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is expected to rule on the validity of the president’s tariff on Jan. 14. Back in August, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that Trump exceeded his power in enacting the import taxes on many countries across the globe.

“It seems unlikely that Congress intended, in enacting IEEPA [the International Emergency Economic Powers Act], to depart from its past practice and grant the President unlimited authority to impose tariffs," the court said at the time of the ruling.

The appeals court decision arises from two separate cases: one filed by five small import businesses—including a New York wine and spirits distributor and a Pennsylvania sport fishing retailer—and another brought by 12 states (Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Vermont), the majority of which are led by Democratic governors.

Trump invoked IEEPA—a 1977 federal law that gives him the authority to control international commerce and implement economic sanctions during declared national emergencies caused by extraordinary threats to national security, foreign policy, or the economy arising outside the United States—in order to enact these tariffs on trading partners that date back to early February.

Reference

1. AbbVie and Trump Administration Reach Agreement to Improve Access and Affordability for Americans. AbbVie. January 12, 2026. Accessed January 14, 2026. https://news.abbvie.com/2026-01-12-AbbVie-and-Trump-Administration-Reach-Agreement-to-Improve-Access-and-Affordability-for-Americans