Unless Congress codifies drug pricing deals, TrumpRx risks serving more as political optics than a driver of meaningful patient affordability.

EMD Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, reached a drug pricing deal with the Trump administration that will lower the cost of the company’s fertility treatments in exchange for tariff reprieve and expedited regulatory review of a product being brought to the US. Pharma’s pricing agreements with the government suggest they were far more worried about tariffs on US drug imports than they admitted in earnings calls or media interviews. Large drugmakers that are thinking through their own versions of deals will need to weigh their proposed product discounts against tariff exposure if they choose not to comply with the administration.