Amgen announced that it will offer discounted, direct-to-consumer sales of Repatha, an injectable drug used to treat high cholesterol, through a new consumer portal.
In an Oct. 6 statement, the company said the move was “in support of the Trump Administration’s efforts to lower drug prices for Americans.”
The Thousand Oaks, California-based company joins Pfizer, which announced on Sept. 30 that Medicaid programs will have access to “most favored nation” pricing of its products, referring to President Donald Trump’s initiative to offer U.S. patients the lowest prices found in developed countries.
Amgen will offer Repatha directly to consumers through AmgenNow, a web-based platform it is developing. U.S. patients will be able to buy the medication for a monthly price of $239, about 60 percent below the current list price.
Trump called for all U.S. pharmaceutical companies on May 12 to honor the most favored nation pricing policy.
Six weeks later, the president said drug makers had responded with blame shifting and requests for policy changes that would amount to billions of dollars in “handouts” to the industry. Trump gave drug makers until Sept. 30 to comply or face stiff tariffs on medications produced overseas.
In a White House announcement on Sept. 30, Trump hinted that Eli Lilly, the nation’s largest drug maker, would soon make a similar announcement. The Epoch Times has reached out to the company for a comment.
Prescription drug prices are higher in the United States than anywhere else in the world, more than twice as much on average, according to a 2024 report from the Department of Health and Human Services. For the most expensive medications, the disparity is even greater.
“The AmgenNow program will make it easier for uninsured patients or those who choose to pay out-of-pocket to access treatment,” Murdo Gordon, Amgen’s executive vice president of global commercial operations, said in a statement.
The program is now available to all Repatha patients, including those enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid, or other government health coverage plans.
Prior authorization is not required for those having a physician’s prescription.
Repatha will also be available on the TrumpRx website after it launches. TrumpRx is a direct-to-consumer prescription platform announced by the president on Sept. 30.
Amgen did not respond before the time of publication to a question on whether other medications would be made available through AmgenNow.
From The Epoch Times