Drug pricing got an unlikely buddy movie moment last week when Mark Cuban, who spent 2024 campaigning for former Vice President Kamala Harris, stood beside Donald Trump at the White House to tout a major expansion of TrumpRx. The move represents exactly the kind of bipartisan theater that moves the news cycle, and not coincidentally, lands well ahead of midterms.

The administration announced the addition of more than 600 generic medications to its drug pricing platform—nearly seven times the original inventory—through new partnerships with Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs Company, GoodRx and Amazon Pharmacy. Among the additions are commonly prescribed generics of blood pressure drugs, antibiotics and statins, many priced under $5.

TrumpRx launched in February with 43 brand-name drugs and a lot of fanfare. The initial problem? At least 18 of those brand-name drugs had cheaper generics already available via other sources, including GoodRx or Cost Plus Drugs. For patients with insurance, out-of-pocket costs were often lower than TrumpRx’s advertised discounts. In essence, the site was solving a significant problem while hiding a better solution.

Adding 600 generics directly addresses that gap, though TrumpRx’s most useful function may be as a price-transparency tool. For patients with decent insurance coverage, it is unlikely to deliver savings. However, for the underinsured and roughly 27.5 million uninsured Americans who pay out of pocket for medicines, a searchable list of common generics under $5 can be a critical resource.

A statesman for the new era, Cuban noted, “Republicans want cheaper drugs, independents want cheaper drugs, Democrats want cheaper drugs, and together I think we’re going to do something special.”

Time will tell whether TrumpRx becomes the Miracle on Ice of drug pricing: an unlikely, unifying win that nobody expected. The more arduous drug pricing tasks (reining in PBMs, restructuring rebate flows and/or retooling IRA negotiations) remain unfinished. For now, the White House has its headline—and on drug pricing, which is no small thing heading into a contentious election season.

– Leslie Isenegger, Head of Growth & Strategy, RC Resolve

RC Resolve, Real Chemistry’s corporate affairs advisory, provides end-to-end strategy through execution to help healthcare organizations navigate complex business challenges, policy issues and reputational risk.

The headlines over the last few weeks have triggered many COVID-era flashbacks. As news broke of both Andes hantavirus and Ebola outbreaks, fear, anxiety and questions around pandemic preparedness have resurfaced.

A key difference this time around: The U.S. is operating with a barebones public health infrastructure following significant funding and staffing cuts to CDC and state public health departments as well as America’s withdrawal from the WHO.

Further echoes of 2020 emerged as HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. invoked the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act to provide two months of legal liability protections to manufacturers developing a potential antiviral treatment for hantavirus. The decision drew swift criticism from MAHA advocates, widening the growing rift between the Trump administration and the movement. Kennedy responded to the critics, tweeting that “HHS defends public health AND supports medical freedom – period.”

But while hantavirus and Ebola are dominating coverage, more common infections like measles or respiratory diseases are the real worry for most public health experts. Cities across the country are preparing to welcome nearly 6 million people for the FIFA World Cup in just a few weeks.

Disease outbreaks go hand-in-hand with mass gatherings. We’ll have to wait and see if America’s strained public health systems can stand up to the test ahead.

– Rachel Bridges, Senior Director

The competitive dynamics of the obesity market shifted again this week. Eli Lilly announced that CVS Caremark will widen access to Zepbound and add coverage for the newly approved obesity pill, Foundayo, further strengthening Lilly’s already dominant position in the rapidly growing category.

Beginning June 1, CVS Caremark will cover Foundayo and, effective October 1, restore Zepbound to select commercial formularies. The move reverses CVS’s 2025 decision to limit access to Zepbound.

Lilly, noting that its obesity portfolio is now covered by all three major U.S. PBMs, saw shares rise more than 4% following the news, reaching an all-time high and briefly surpassing a $1 trillion market capitalization.

Market reaction reflected the importance of formulary positioning and access, though health economist Robert Popovian raised what is, in fact, the trillion-dollar question: whether increased competition will lower patients’ out-of-pocket costs, or whether the savings will remain primarily with plans, PBMs and employers.

While the coverage update itself is notable, it also highlights how obesity remains an outlier from a communications standpoint.

As much of the industry focuses on pricing policy debates, GLP-1 manufacturers continue to communicate aggressively around coverage, affordability and patient access. The result is a category in which value is increasingly defined not only by price, but by whether patients can ultimately access and afford treatment.

– Leah Nebbia, Managing Director

The Trump administration’s most-favored nation drug pricing agenda continues to escalate on a global scale, as tensions over pharmaceutical pricing increasingly spill into broader debates around trade, innovation and investment.

STAT reported that senior U.S. officials recently pressured Germany to pay more for prescription drugs, reinforcing the administration’s argument that foreign governments have long benefited from lower prices while the U.S. subsidizes global pharmaceutical innovation. The pressure comes as Germany and France move to bolster Europe’s pharmaceutical competitiveness and reinforce the region’s pharmaceutical industry amid concerns about investment flight.

At the same time, industry groups and manufacturers are warning that MFN policies may already be influencing launch and access decisions outside the U.S. BioWorld reported early indications that companies are reassessing European launches. This comes as firms evaluate how lower ex-U.S. prices could reverberate back into the American market through international reference pricing mechanisms.

The coming months may provide the first real test of MFN’s downstream impact as manufacturers begin making launch, pricing and access decisions in the new environment. While companies such as Eli Lilly continue projecting confidence in global launches, European stakeholders and industry leaders are increasingly questioning whether the policy can avoid disrupting investment and patient access abroad.

– Stephen Tellone, Associate Director

• May 29-June 2 – annual meeting for all things cancer care, ASCO
• June 4 – public hearing to “obtain feedback and perspectives” on the CNPV Pilot Program, FDA
• June 5 – subcommittee hearing to markup HHS’ FY 2027 funding bill, House Appropriations

• “The administration’s current direction, which asks partner countries to choose, à la carte, which CDC services to buy, risks pulling out the scaffolding and expertise before an effective alternative is in place.” – 8 former CDC directors, STAT
• “If half the time spent on hysteria about China went to competing on merits, biotechs and patients would be much better served.” – C. Simone Fishburn & Joshua Berlin, BioCentury
• “When pharmaceutical companies update the shape, size and colors of medication, it creates the potential for confusion or worse: accidentally taking the wrong pills, or skipping doses, which could lead to serious health consequences.” – Barbara Wolf, STAT
• “The ‘Help Wanted’ posters now ubiquitous in the federal health apparatus could offer a positive opportunity for the FDA. A new and less bombastic, less ideological commissioner could return the agency to its roots in science-based decision making, genuine transparency, and public accountability.” – Drs. Aaron Kesselheim & Jerry Avorn, Health Affairs Forefront

• After repeatedly canceling the task force’s meetings for more than a year, HHS Secretary Kennedy terminated the jobs of two vice-chairs leading an advisory panel responsible for determining which preventive services will receive insurance coverage at no cost. The New York Times: Kennedy Fires Leaders of Key Health Task Force.
• Senate Republicans will have a new healthcare leader in 2027 after health committee chair Bill Cassidy, R-La., failed to advance in his primary. Axios: Cassidy defeat may complicate filling health vacancies.
• Observers expect Acting Commissioner Kyle Diamantas to remain at the helm of the FDA through the U.S. midterm elections in November despite his nontraditional background. Inside Health Policy: FDA Watchers Forecast Long Tenure For Acting Commissioner.
• Hospitals owned by three academic health systems have sued CVS Health, alleging the company withheld more than $249 million in 340B drug discount savings over a five-year period. Healthcare Dive: Hospitals sue CVS for allegedly siphoning $250M in 340B funds.
• Over 20 domestic and foreign biopharma leaders met with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to discuss ways to boost life sciences leadership in the nation. Fierce Pharma: Pharma leaders meet with PM Takaichi in push for Japan to retain R&D edge.
• Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger vetoed legislation to create an advisory panel that would have set price caps on medicines in the state using Medicare negotiations as a benchmark. Virginia Mercury: Governor kills Prescription Drug Affordability Board proposal.
• A major pharma company is offering grants to research institutions to produce “rigorous, independent” work spotlighting the potential consequences of U.S. pricing policies on future biopharma innovation. STAT: Genentech is soliciting research that can be used to blunt pharma reforms in Washington.