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President Donald Trump said he asked major pharmaceutical companies to take steps to cut U.S. drug prices within the next 60 days.
On Truth Social, Trump posted individual letters he sent 17 drugmakers, including Eli Lilly, GSK, Pfizer, Regeneron, Merck, Pfizer and Novo Nordisk.
It comes after Trump in May signed an executive order reviving a controversial policy that aims to slash drug costs by tying the prices of some medicine in the U.S. to the significantly lower ones abroad.

U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Dr. Mehmet Oz, Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, David Sacks, AI & Crypto Czar and Amy Gleason, Acting Administrator, Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) attend the “Making Health Technology Great Again” event in the East Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 30, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters

President Donald Trump on Thursday said he asked major pharmaceutical companies to take steps to cut U.S. drug prices within the next 60 days.
On Truth Social on Thursday, Trump posted individual letters he sent 17 drugmakers: AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Genentech, Gilead, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Regeneron, and Sanofi.

Trump threatened to “deploy every tool in our arsenal to protect American families from continued abusive drug pricing practices” if companies refuse to comply. He asked for each company to commit to his several goals by Sept. 29.
The letters come after Trump in May signed an executive order reviving a controversial plan, known as the “most favored nation” policy, that aims to slash drug costs by tying the prices of some medicines in the U.S. to the significantly lower ones abroad. It was Trump’s latest effort to try to rein in U.S. prescription drug prices, which are two to three times higher on average than those in other developed nations – and up to 10 times more than in certain countries, according to the Rand Corp., a public policy think tank.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt holds U.S. President Donald Trump’s letter to Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 31, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters

In the letters on Thursday, Trump said drugmakers have proposed potential solutions for high U.S. drug prices. But he said those proposals “promised more of the same: shifting blame and requesting policy changes that would result in billions of dollars in handouts to the industry.”
He said moving forward, he will only accept 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.” Trump said a collaborative effort towards lowering U.S. drug prices would be the “most effective path” for companies, the government and patients.
Shares of drugmakers fell following the announcement on Thursday. Shares of Bristol Myers Squibb and Novo Nordisk dropped nearly 5%, GSK and Merck’s stocks fell more than 3% and shares of Sanofi tumbled more than 8%.

Here are the steps Trump is asking companies to take:

He called on drugmakers to provide their full portfolio of existing medicines at the lowest price offered in other developed nations – or what he calls the most-favored-nation price – to every single Medicaid patient.
Trump also asked companies to contract with the U.S. to guarantee that Medicare, Medicaid and commercial payers receive most-favored-nation prices on all new drugs upon launch and moving forward.
He called on companies to negotiate harder with what he called “foreign freeloading nations,” adding that U.S. trade policy will try to support that effort. He said increased revenues abroad must be “repatriated to lower drug prices” for American patients and taxpayers through an agreement with the U.S.
He asked drugmakers to adopt models that sell their medicines directly to consumers or businesses, which effectively eliminates middlemen and aims to ensure that all Americans get the same most-favored nation prices that companies offer to third-party payers.

Alex Schriver, senior vice president of PhRMA, the industry’s largest lobbying group, said “importing foreign price controls would undermine American leadership, hurting patients and workers.”
The group added that to reduce price differences with other countries, U.S. officials should “rein in health care middlemen driving up costs for Americans and get foreign countries to pay their fair share for innovative medicines.” PhRMA is referring to pharmacy benefit managers, insurers and other payers.
In separate statements, spokespeople for Pfizer, Novo Nordisk and Novartis said they are working to find solutions that help Americans access and afford drugs they need.
Pfizer said that the company’s discussions with the Trump administration and Congress “have been productive.” Novartis said it is reviewing the letter.
The announcement comes just days after AstraZeneca said it has proposed price cuts to certain drugs in the U.S., and that the Trump administration is considering those proposals. AstraZeneca added that it is considering selling some drugs to patients directly, which is a move that companies like Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer and Bristol Myers Squibb have adopted as patients struggle to afford drugs in the U.S.
Drugmakers are also bracing for the president’s planned tariffs on pharmaceuticals imported into the U.S. More

President Donald Trump announced an EU trade deal with 15% tariffs.
Many of the world’s recreational boats and yachts are made in Europe, but most of the biggest buyers are in the U.S.
That’s left industry experts bracing for the fallout from the tariffs and planning for changes.

Superyachts in Port Hercules, Monaco.
John Lamb | The Image Bank | Getty Images

A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
American boat buyers and European shipyards are scrambling to assess the damage from the proposed U.S. 15% tariffs on European-made goods.

With many of the world’s recreational boats and yachts made in Europe, and most of the biggest buyers in the U.S., industry experts are bracing for the fallout from President Donald Trump’s Monday tariff announcement.
The European Boating Industry issued a statement this week saying, “The U.S. is the most important export market for the recreational boating industry in Europe. The 15% tariff rate presents serious challenges for businesses in Europe.”
Granted, most Americans can who buy a $10 million or $100 million yacht can likely afford another 15% tax. Yet brokers said the cost equation for many buyers will change with the tariffs.
“I don’t know any stupid rich people,” said Kevin Merrigan, chairman of Northrop & Johnson, the yacht brokerage firm. “What matters to them matters. If they hear they’re going to have to spend another 15%, it has an impact.”

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Most boat contracts require the builder to pay duties. Yet attorneys said the new tariffs aren’t likely to fall under existing duties, and the buyers will likely have to pay a portion, if not the majority. Brokers said many buyers who purchased their yachts a year or two ago — since a specialized build can take three years from start to finish —are negotiating now with the shipyards.

In the meantime, brokers said the wealthy will do what they typically do when faced with a new tax — find a way around it. The most common strategy will likely be to register the boat in another country, known as “foreign flagging.”
An American buyer can register their yacht in one of several countries that have agreements with the U.S. The most common are the Cayman Islands, the Marshall Islands, Malta and Jamaica, brokers said. By registering the yacht abroad, the owner can enter the U.S. as a visiting vessel and therefore avoid the tariff.
There are restrictions and rules, and special cruising permits are required. And it can cost $5,000 to over $20,000 to register in another country. But the savings on a multimillion-dollar yacht are substantial.
“If it’s never technically imported and it never crosses the customs border line, the tariff doesn’t apply,” said Michael Moore, a maritime attorney with Moore & Co.
Registering in another country usually only makes financial and logistical sense for larger yachts, while smaller boats (say, those under 45 feet) will still likely end up paying the tariff. In that sense, the new tariff regime will create a new class of have-yachts and have-superyachts, with the super-yachters best equipped to escape the 15% tax.
Brokers said the tariffs could increase demand for U.S. yacht makers like Westport, Trinity or Burger Boat Company. And with demand for preowned yachts in a slump after a post-Covid surge, many hope sales and prices for preowned yachts already registered in the U.S. will strengthen.
“That’s my hope,” Merrigan said. “That’s what we’re all hoping.” More

Ikea and Best Buy have launched a pilot program putting Ikea kitchen and laundry displays in 10 U.S. stores.
Shoppers can design spaces with Ikea staff and pick appliances with Best Buy associates.
The move comes as Best Buy faces soft sales driven by tariffs, a weak housing market, and slower tech demand.

The logo of Best Buy and Ikea on shopping carts.
Getty Images

Best Buy said Thursday it will test mini-showrooms in some of its stores featuring Ikea products to show off kitchen design elements from the home retailer beside home appliances from the electronics store.
Beginning this fall, the program will debut in 10 Best Buy stores across Florida and Texas. Each store will feature a 1,000-square-foot Ikea “shop-in-shop” showcasing styled kitchens and laundry rooms.

“By bringing together our home furnishing expertise, products, and services with Best Buy’s leadership in appliances and technology, we’re creating a one-stop destination where customers can design their dream kitchen, storage solutions or laundry space with ease,” Rob Olson, chief operation officer of Ikea U.S. said in a Thursday press release.
The companies did not disclose financial aspects of the partnership.
IKEA is the Swedish flat-pack furniture giant, while Best Buy is one of the United States’ top consumer electronic stores.
The partnership comes as Best Buy looks for new ways to attract shoppers.
The company has struggled lately with rising tariff pressures, a soft demand in appliances, and a sluggish housing market. Best Buy said this spring that it had increased prices on some items due to tariffs. More

Few firms in America are more unloved than health insurers. As gatekeepers of the world’s costliest health-care system, their miserly response to claims is a constant source of patient unhappiness. Investors, by contrast, have long regarded them as soothingly safe bets: boring businesses with steady returns. That is no longer the case. UnitedHealth Group, the country’s largest insurer, stunned investors in April by reporting unexpectedly disappointing results. Within weeks it had replaced its boss and scrapped its profit forecast for the year. Its latest results, released on July 29th, offered more misery. Since November UnitedHealth’s market value has collapsed from $575bn to $240bn. More

America’s biggest technology companies are combining Silicon Valley returns with Ruhr Valley balance-sheets. Investors who bought shares in Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft a decade ago are sitting on eight times their money, excluding dividends. Spending on data centres means the firms possess property and equipment (accounting-speak for hard assets) worth more than 60% of their equity book value, up from 20% over the same period. Add the capital expenditure of these firms during the past year to that of Amazon and Oracle, two more tech giants, and the sum is greater than the outlay of all America’s listed industrial companies combined. Jason Thomas of Carlyle, an investment firm, estimates that the spending boom was responsible for a third of America’s economic growth during the most recent quarter. More

A show called “Hello Kitty and Friends Supercute Adventures” might be expected to feature the world-famous cat more prominently than one of her lesser-known companions. In fact in its most-watched episode, “Kuromi’s Bad Day”, Hello Kitty plays a supporting role, cheering up grumpy Kuromi, a rabbit dressed in hot pink, with milk and a doughnut. Nor is this an isolated relegation. In an annual poll of fans’ favourite characters, Hello Kitty has won only once in the past decade. More

Moderna said it plans to slash roughly 10% of its global workforce by the end of the year, as Covid shot sales continue to dwindle and the company grapples with uncertainty in the vaccine market. 
In a memo to employees, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said the company expects to have fewer than 5,000 workers by the end of the year.
In May, Moderna said it will reduce annual operating expenses by about $1.5 billion by 2027.

The Moderna Inc. headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on March 26, 2024.
Adam Glanzman | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Moderna on Thursday said it plans to slash roughly 10% of its global workforce by the end of the year, as Covid shot sales continue to dwindle and the company grapples with uncertainty in the vaccine market. 
In a memo to employees, Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel said the company expects to have fewer than 5,000 workers by the end of the year. Moderna had approximately 5,800 full-time employees in 18 countries as of Dec. 31, 2024, according to its 2024 annual report. 

Shares of Moderna have dropped more than 20% this year. In May, the company reported first-quarter vaccine sales that missed Wall Street’s estimates. Moderna is also navigating policy hurdles under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has taken steps to change vaccine guidelines and potentially threaten access to shots in the U.S.
Also in May, Moderna said it will reduce annual operating expenses by about $1.5 billion by 2027. That target adds to cuts that the company previously announced.

More CNBC health coverage

Moderna will provide another update on its business when it posts quarterly results Friday morning.
In the memo, Bancel said Moderna has made significant progress toward cuts by scaling down research and development, especially as it concludes trials on respiratory products, renegotiates supplier agreements and reduces manufacturing costs. 
“Every effort was made to avoid affecting jobs,” he said. “But today, reshaping our operating structure and aligning our cost structure to the realities of our business are essential to remain focused and financially disciplined, while continuing to invest in our science on the path to 2027.”

He said the “future of Moderna is bright,” noting that it now has three approved products and the potential for up to eight more in the next three years. In May, the Food and Drug Administration approved Moderna’s third-ever product, a next-generation Covid shot.
But Bancel said “this decision was not made lightly.”
“It impacts teammates and friends who have dedicated themselves to our mission and who have helped build Moderna,” he said. “I want to express, on behalf of the entire Executive Committee and on behalf of patients you have served, our deepest thanks for everything you have contributed.”

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Eli Lilly said its blockbuster diabetes drug Mounjaro showed similar heart health benefits as the company’s older diabetes treatment, Trulicity, in a late-stage trial directly comparing the two medicines. 
The drugmaker said it believes the new data bolsters the case for Mounjaro to be prescribers’ first choice for patients with Type 2 diabetes.
Eli Lilly plans to submit the data to global regulators by the end of the year, and the company said that could lead to approvals of Mounjaro for this purpose in 2026.

Mounjaro manufactured by Eli Lilly and Company packaging is seen in this illustration photo taken in a pharmacy in Krakow, Poland on April 9, 2024.
Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Eli Lilly on Thursday said its blockbuster diabetes drug Mounjaro showed heart health benefits in a late-stage trial directly comparing it to the company’s older diabetes treatment, Trulicity.
Mounjaro met the study’s main goal of showing that it wasn’t any worse than Trulicity at treating people with Type 2 diabetes and established cardiovascular disease. Eli Lilly said it believes the new data bolsters the case for Mounjaro to be prescribers’ first choice for patients with Type 2 diabetes, who are twice as likely to have heart disease or stroke as those without the disease.

The results come as Trulicity – also a top-selling drug for Eli Lilly – faces a patent expiration in 2027, which could further boost Mounjaro’s position in the diabetes market. 
Mounjaro met the main goal of the nearly five-year study, reducing the risk of cardiovascular death, heart attack or stroke by 8% when compared to Trulicity in adults with Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. But shares of Eli Lilly fell nearly 2% in premarket trading Thursday, as those results did not meet some analysts’ benchmarks for being considered superior to Trulicity. 
Still, the company said Mounjaro showed additional, “more comprehensive” benefits over Trulicity in the trial, including a 16% lower rate of death from any cause and greater kidney protection. It was the longest and largest trial to date on tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Mounjaro, enrolling more than 13,000 people. 

Some clinicians said the results, particularly the lowered risk of cardiovascular events, aren’t surprising, as they assumed Mounjaro would be able to offer cardiovascular benefits.
But the difference in the rate of death from any cause between Mounjaro and Trulicity is “really quite profound” and “definitely something clinically meaningful to us as clinicians,” said Dr. David Broome, clinical assistant professor at the division of metabolism, endocrinology and diabetes at the University of Michigan’s department of internal medicine.

He said the data helped quantify the difference between Mounjaro and Trulicity, which will further help providers and patients determine the best treatment to move forward with in their shared decision-making. Broome said those prescribing decisions between patients and providers will ultimately depend on several factors, such as their insurance coverage, the side effects of a given drug and how well the patient tolerates them.
Dr. Howard Weintraub, clinical director of the Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease at NYU Langone Heart, called Mounjaro a “winner” in the trial, with the only downside coming from it having slightly more side effects than Trulicity. But he said the results may not motivate more people to start Mounjaro, and that the drug’s higher list price may deter insurers from covering it if it isn’t substantially better than Trulicity.
Weintraub said he expects there to be a lot of “digging” into the data when the full results are presented at a European medical meeting and published in a peer-reviewed journal in the fall.
Eli Lilly saw the trial results as an indicator that clinicians should choose Mounjaro for the patient group.
“It strengthens the overall story. In my mind, it raises the question of, ‘Why wouldn’t you choose Mounjaro?'” Ken Custer, president of Lilly Cardiometabolic Health, said in an interview. 
The results “take away any doubt of why this is the right medicine for a patient with Type 2 diabetes and Type 2 diabetes with cardiovascular risk,” he said, adding that it “makes it even harder to say no to covering this medicine for patients.”
The results also come as Eli Lilly solidifies its lead over Novo Nordisk in the booming market for weight loss and diabetes drugs. Studies from both companies have shown the added health benefits of their drugs for conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea and chronic kidney disease. 
Eli Lilly plans to submit the heart health data to global regulators by the end of the year, and the company said that could lead to approvals — and by extension insurance coverage — of Mounjaro for this purpose in 2026. Any approvals would not apply to Eli Lilly’s weight loss drug Zepbound, which shares the same active ingredient as Mounjaro but is specifically cleared for patients with obesity and not diabetes. 
The company is currently studying Zepbound’s cardiovascular benefits in patients with obesity and established cardiovascular disease. The phase three trial is expected to wrap up in 2027, according to Eli Lilly’s website. 
Even if regulators approve Mounjaro for treating heart disease in patients with Type 2 diabetes, it may not significantly expand use of the drug. That’s because Mounjaro’s current approval for Type 2 diabetes already covers many of those patients: Around 30% of people with Type 2 diabetes also have cardiovascular disease, according to the Heart Foundation. 
In a June research note ahead of the data, TD Cowen analyst Steve Scala said he believes uptake of tirzeptide “would be largely unaffected” if it shows similar heart health benefits as Trulicity. 
Tirzepatide is already “gaining significant adoption” in the market due to its “strong profile,” Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger said in a separate note in June. He said experts agreed that regardless of whether tirzepatide’s cardiovascular benefits were superior or matched those of Trulicity in the study, the results “would not significantly alter” the decisions of doctors. 
Mounjaro showed greater improvements than Trulicity did when it came to some cardiovascular measures and lowering body weight and A1C, which is a measure of blood sugar levels.
The safety data of both Mounjaro and Trulicity were generally consistent with what has been observed in the past. The most commonly reported adverse events for both drugs were gastrointestinal-related and generally mild to moderate in severity. 
— CNBC’s Angelica Peebles contributed to this report. More