Trump Administration Concludes 17th Drug Pricing Agreement with Regeneron and Reclassifies Medical Marijuana

Apr 24, 2026, 13:36

Introduction

President Donald Trump announced a drug pricing agreement with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, completing a series of 17 deals with major pharmaceutical companies. Separately, the administration issued an order reclassifying state-licensed medical marijuana under a less restrictive drug schedule.

Main Body

The agreement with Regeneron, as detailed in a White House fact sheet, includes a reduction in the price of the cholesterol-lowering treatment Praluent to $225 from $537 for patients purchasing through the TrumpRx website. Additionally, all future Regeneron medicines will be subject to Most Favored Nation (MFN) pricing, aligning their U.S. costs with those in other countries. Regeneron also committed to investing $27 billion in drug development within the United States and announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had approved Otarmeni, the first gene therapy authorized under the agency’s new National Priority Voucher program. This agreement represents the 17th and final deal in a series initiated by the White House in July 2025, when President Trump sent letters to 17 major pharmaceutical companies demanding lower drug prices. By the end of January 2026, 16 other companies—including Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and others—had signed similar agreements. The specific terms of each deal remain private, and some may not yet be finalized. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. provided an explanation for President Trump’s characterization of drug price reductions. During a Senate hearing, Kennedy stated that Trump uses a non-standard method of calculating percentage reductions. He cited an example: reducing a $600 drug to $10 is described by Trump as a “600 percent reduction,” a calculation that Kennedy acknowledged departs from conventional mathematical norms. In a separate policy action, the administration issued an executive order signed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche that reclassifies state-licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act. This change does not legalize marijuana under federal law but alters its regulatory status, granting licensed medical marijuana operators a significant tax deduction and reducing barriers to cannabis research. The reclassification represents a notable shift in federal drug policy.

Conclusion

The Regeneron agreement concludes the administration’s initial round of drug pricing negotiations with major pharmaceutical companies, though the confidentiality of the deals leaves their full impact uncertain. The reclassification of medical marijuana marks a substantive change in federal regulatory approach without altering its legal status. Both measures reflect ongoing efforts to address drug pricing and drug policy, with implementation details still emerging.

Vocabulary Learning

characterization

The description or portrayal of the qualities or features of someone or something; often a subjective interpretation.描述：對某人或某事物的特質或特徵的描述或描繪；常帶有主觀解釋。

Example:Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. provided an explanation for President Trump’s characterization of drug price reductions.

departs

To deviate or stray from a standard, norm, or expected course of action.偏離：脫離標準、規範或預期行動路線。

Example:a calculation that Kennedy acknowledged departs from conventional mathematical norms.

Most Favored Nation

A trade policy principle that requires a country to grant any trade advantages or privileges it gives to one trading partner to all other trading partners; in this context, applied to drug pricing to align U.S. costs with those in other countries.最惠國待遇：一項貿易政策原則，要求一國給予某一貿易夥伴的任何貿易優惠或特權，也必須給予所有其他貿易夥伴；在此語境下應用於藥品定價，使美國成本與其他國家一致。

Example:all future Regeneron medicines will be subject to Most Favored Nation (MFN) pricing, aligning their U.S. costs with those in other countries.

reclassification

The act of assigning a new classification or category, especially under the Controlled Substances Act, changing a substance's legal schedule.重新分類：指賦予新的分類或類別，尤其在《管制物質法》下改變物質的法律附表。

Example:the administration issued an executive order ... that reclassifies state-licensed medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III.

substantive

Having real importance, value, or meaning; significant and not merely procedural.實質性的：具有真正的重要性、價值或意義；重要的，不僅是程序性的。

Example:The reclassification of medical marijuana marks a substantive change in federal regulatory approach.

Sentence Learning

Main clause: 'The agreement ... includes a reduction'. Parenthetical reduced adverbial clause: 'as detailed in a White House fact sheet' (elliptical for 'as it is detailed'). Reduced relative clause: 'for patients purchasing through the TrumpRx website' (reduced from 'who purchase'). High lexical density with compound noun phrases.主句：「The agreement ... includes a reduction」。插入式縮略副詞子句：「as detailed in a White House fact sheet」（省略了「as it is detailed」）。縮略關係子句：「for patients purchasing through the TrumpRx website」（由「who purchase」縮略而成）。詞彙密度高，包含複合名詞短語。

Additionally, all future Regeneron medicines will be subject to Most Favored Nation (MFN) pricing, aligning their U.S. costs with those in other countries.

Main clause: 'all future Regeneron medicines will be subject to ... pricing'. Present participle phrase: 'aligning their U.S. costs with those in other countries' functions as a resultative adjunct, indicating the consequence of the main clause. Use of 'those' as a pronoun to avoid repetition.主句：「all future Regeneron medicines will be subject to ... pricing」。現在分詞短語：「aligning their U.S. costs with those in other countries」作為結果狀語，表示主句的結果。使用代詞「those」避免重複。

Regeneron also committed to investing $27 billion in drug development within the United States and announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had approved Otarmeni, the first gene therapy authorized under the agency’s new National Priority Voucher program.

Compound main clause with two coordinated verbs: 'committed to investing ... and announced'. The second verb takes a 'that'-clause as object: 'that the FDA had approved Otarmeni'. Appositive noun phrase: 'the first gene therapy authorized under ... program', containing a reduced relative clause 'authorized under ...'. Complex structure with multiple levels of embedding.複合主句包含兩個並列動詞：「committed to investing ... and announced」。第二個動詞帶有「that」子句作賓語：「that the FDA had approved Otarmeni」。同位語名詞短語：「the first gene therapy authorized under ... program」，包含縮略關係子句「authorized under ...」。結構複雜，多層嵌套。

This agreement represents the 17th and final deal in a series initiated by the White House in July 2025, when President Trump sent letters to 17 major pharmaceutical companies demanding lower drug prices.

Main clause: 'This agreement represents the 17th and final deal'. Reduced relative clause: 'initiated by the White House' (reduced from 'which was initiated'). Temporal relative clause: 'when President Trump sent letters ...' provides additional information about the time. Present participle phrase: 'demanding lower drug prices' modifies 'letters' (reduced relative clause).主句：「This agreement represents the 17th and final deal」。縮略關係子句：「initiated by the White House」（由「which was initiated」縮略）。時間關係子句：「when President Trump sent letters ...」提供時間信息。現在分詞短語：「demanding lower drug prices」修飾「letters」（縮略關係子句）。

He cited an example: reducing a $600 drug to $10 is described by Trump as a “600 percent reduction,” a calculation that Kennedy acknowledged departs from conventional mathematical norms.

Main clause: 'He cited an example'. Colon introduces an appositive example. The example itself is a passive sentence: 'reducing a $600 drug to $10 is described by Trump as ...'. Then an appositive noun phrase: 'a calculation that Kennedy acknowledged departs from conventional mathematical norms', which contains a relative clause 'that Kennedy acknowledged departs...' with a nested clause where 'acknowledged' takes a zero-that complement clause 'departs...'. This is a sophisticated structure involving multiple embeddings and passive voice.主句：「He cited an example」。冒號引出同位語例子。例子本身是被動句：「reducing a $600 drug to $10 is described by Trump as ...」。然後是同位語名詞短語：「a calculation that Kennedy acknowledged departs from conventional mathematical norms」，其中包含關係子句「that Kennedy acknowledged departs...」，而「acknowledged」帶有省略「that」的補足語子句「departs...」。這是涉及多重嵌套和被動語態的複雜結構。