Johnson & Johnson to cut US drug prices, secures tariff exemption

Johnson & Johnson on Friday announced a voluntary agreement with the administration of US President Donald Trump to improve access to medicines and reduce costs for millions of US patients.

The New Brunswick, New Jersey-based pharmaceutical company said the agreement satisfies requests laid out by the Trump administration, providing the company's pharmaceutical products with an exemption from tariffs.

However, the specific terms of the agreement remain confidential.

"Today's agreement shows that when the public and private sectors work together towards shared goals, we can deliver real results for patients and the US economy," said Chair and Chief Executive Officer Joaquin Duato. "I'm proud that Johnson & Johnson is answering President Trump's call to lower drug prices for everyday Americans while maintaining our role in improving and saving lives and ensuring that the United States continues to lead the world in healthcare innovation."

As part of the deal, J&J said it will participate in TrumpRx.gov, a platform that allows millions of US patients to buy medicines at significantly discounted rates.

Additionally, J&J will offer patients access to medicines at comparable prices to other developed countries through the Medicaid programme.

Furthermore, in accordance with the company's early 2029 target to invest USD55 billion in the US as announced in March, J&J confirmed that billions of dollars have already been allocated to improve US manufacturing.

Ultimately, J&J aims to manufacture "the vast majority" of its advanced medicines in the US.

J&J said: "Today, as part of the USD55 billion investment, the company is announcing two new US manufacturing facilities, including a next generation cell therapy manufacturing site in Pennsylvania and a state-of-the-art drug product manufacturing facility in North Carolina.

"Additionally, construction is progressing on our USD2 billion state-of-the-art biologics manufacturing facility in Wilson, North Carolina, which the company broke ground on last year."

That Wilson project is expected to create approximately 5,000 skilled manufacturing and construction jobs in North Carolina, and J&J is already accelerating hiring of advanced manufacturing employees to work at the new facility.

J&J said it expects to announce further US investments later in 2026.