The White House announced a set of agreements with nine major drugmakers designed to lower U.S. drug prices by aligning some Medicare/Medicaid prices with peer‑nation levels. Companies named in coverage include Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Genentech, Gilead, GSK, Merck, Novartis and Sanofi. STAT and other outlets described the package as the administration’s largest such round to date; officials say the pacts target medications where U.S. prices exceed international benchmarks and could affect 30–40% of Medicaid drugs. The agreements raise questions about payer strategy, manufacturer margins, and access pathways for high‑cost specialty medicines.