Blog

  • AstraZeneca announces historic agreement with US Government to lower the cost of medicines for American patients

    AstraZeneca today announces a historic agreement with President Donald J. Trump’s administration to lower the cost of prescription medicines for American patients while preserving America’s cutting-edge biopharmaceutical innovation.

    At a landmark event at the White House, AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot joined President Trump and members of his Administration to confirm the Company voluntarily met all requests set out in the President’s 31 July letter. The Company agrees to a range of measures which will enable American patients to access medicines at prices that are equalized with those available in wealthy countries.

    As part of the agreement, AstraZeneca will provide Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) sales to eligible patients with prescriptions for chronic diseases at a discount of up to 80% off list prices. AstraZeneca will participate in the TrumpRx.gov direct purchasing platform, which will allow patients to purchase medicines at a reduced cash price from AstraZeneca.

    AstraZeneca has also reached an agreement with the US Department of Commerce to delay Section 232 tariffs for three years, enabling the Company to fully onshore medicines manufacturing so that all of its medicines sold in America are made in America. This will be achieved through the Company’s recently announced $50 billion investment in US medicines manufacturing and R&D over the next five years to help deliver $80 billion in Total Revenue by 2030, 50% of which is expected to be generated in the US.

    Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, AstraZeneca, said: “Every year AstraZeneca treats millions of Americans living with cancer and chronic diseases and, as a result of today’s agreement, many patients will access life-changing medicines at lower prices. This new approach also helps safeguard America’s pioneering role as a global powerhouse in innovation and developing the next generation of medicines. It is now essential other wealthy countries step up their contribution to fund innovation.”

    AstraZeneca’s commitment to the US and American patients is further reflected in the Company’s largest single investment in a manufacturing facility to date, where the Company broke ground yesterday in Virginia. This facility will support AstraZeneca’s weight management and metabolic portfolio and our leading antibody drug conjugate cancer pipeline. Additionally, a newly expanded manufacturing facility in Coppell, Texas, will officially open next week. Looking ahead, AstraZeneca will open a cell therapy manufacturing facility in Rockville, Maryland early next year and its second major R&D centre in Cambridge, Massachusetts will open in late 2026.

    The US is AstraZeneca’s largest market by sales and is also home to 19 R&D, manufacturing and commercial sites. The Company’s US workforce exceeds more than 25,000 people and supports more than 100,000 jobs overall across the country. In 2025, AstraZeneca created approximately $20 billion of overall value to the American economy.

    Notes

    AstraZeneca’s agreement with US Government
    This is the second agreement that a pharmaceutical company has made with the US Department of Health and Human Services to lower the cost of medicines for American patients in the past two weeks. Specific terms of this agreement remain confidential.

    AstraZeneca
    AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/Nasdaq: AZN) is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialisation of prescription medicines in Oncology, Rare Diseases, and BioPharmaceuticals, including Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism, and Respiratory & Immunology. Based in Cambridge, UK, AstraZeneca’s innovative medicines are sold in more than 125 countries and used by millions of patients worldwide. Please visit astrazeneca.com and follow the Company on social media @AstraZeneca. The contents of AstraZeneca’s website do not form part of this document and no one should rely on such websites or the contents thereof in reading this document.

    Contacts
    For details on how to contact the Investor Relations Team, please click here. For Media contacts, click here.

    Continue Reading

  • Sarepta to seek approval for gene therapy in rare muscular dystrophy

    Sarepta to seek approval for gene therapy in rare muscular dystrophy

    An experimental gene therapy from Sarepta Therapeutics increased levels of the gene missing in an ultra-rare form of muscular dystrophy, according to data the company presented Friday.

    The company has said it plans to file for approval in the disease, known as limb-girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD) 2E. That would make it the first approved treatment in LGMD, a broad collection of highly rare diseases that can deprive patients of the ability to walk and in some cases shorten life. But it is likely to face a significant uphill battle. 

    The LGMD 2E therapy relies on the same gene-ferrying virus that Sarepta uses in its other treatments, including its approved gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Elevidys, and experimental gene therapies for several other LGMD subtypes. 

    STAT+ Exclusive Story

    This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers

    Unlock this article — plus daily coverage and analysis of the pharma industry — by subscribing to STAT+.

    Already have an account? Log in

    View All Plans

    To read the rest of this story subscribe to STAT+.

    Subscribe

    Continue Reading

  • Conservation Is the Work of Art: How The Lightning Field Made Land Art into Land Management

    Conservation Is the Work of Art: How The Lightning Field Made Land Art into Land Management

    Maya Livio

    Southwest of Black Mesa and north of Cerro Verde, Cibola County, New Mexico, 2015. License: CC0.