President Trump urged 17 major pharmaceutical companies to lower the cost of prescription drugs for Americans within two months, the White House announced Thursday.

In letters he sent to their CEOs, Mr. Trump threatened to “deploy every tool in our arsenal to protect American families from continued abusive drug practices” if companies refuse to comply. He asked for each company to commit to lowering prices by Sept. 29.

The president called on drugmakers to provide all their medicine at the lowest price offered in other developed nations — or what he calls the most-favored-nation price — to every single Medicaid patient.

“Right now brand name drug prices in the United States are up to three times higher on average than elsewhere for identical medications,” Mr. Trump wrote. “This unacceptable burden on hardworking American families ends with my administration.”

Letters were sent to top executives at Eli Lilly, Sanofi, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb, to name a few. The drug companies didn’t respond to a request for comment.

In the letters, Mr. Trump said drugmakers have proposed solutions for high U.S. drug prices but that those offers “promised more of the same: shifting blame and requesting policy changes that would result in billions of dollars in handouts to the industry.”

Mr. Trump said he will accept only commitments from drugmakers that provide “American families immediate relief from the vastly inflated drug prices and an end to the free ride of American innovation by European and other developed nations.” He said a “collaborative effort” toward lowering U.S. drug prices would be the most effective path, but he’s prepared to take other measures.

Shares of major pharmaceutical companies fell at the close of trading Thursday largely due to the announcement.

Bristol Myers Squibb and Novo Nordisk were down by nearly 6%. GlaxoSmithKline and Merck were down by nearly 5%. Sanofi’s stock tumbled by about 7%.

In statements, several of the drug companies who received letters said they are reviewing Mr. Trump’s request and are committed to lowering prescription drug costs.

Novartis said it is “finding ways to improve access and affordability” while Pfizer said it is working closely with the Trump administration and Congress on “solutions that will increase access and affordability for American patients.” 

Mr. Trump outlined steps he says the drugmakers must take to reduce prices for Americans.

• Drugmakers must provide their full portfolio of medicine to Americans at the lowest price offered in other developed nations.

• Companies must contract with the U.S. to guarantee that Medicare, Medicaid and commercial payers receive most-favored-nation prices on all drugs upon launch.

• Companies must negotiate harder with what he described as “foreign freeloading nations,” saying he will support the effort through U.S. trade policy. He said increased revenue abroad must be repatriated to lower drug prices for American patients.

• Drugmakers must adopt models to sell their medicine directly to consumers or businesses, eliminating middlemen and ensuring all Americans get most-favored-nation prices.

Prescription prices in the U.S. are, on average, two to three times higher than those in other developing nations, according to Rand Corp., a public policy think tank.

• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.