President Donald Trump
Leah Millis | Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump thanked two major drug companies on Thursday for not raising their prices and said his administration was working toward substantially cutting prescription-drug prices.
"Thank you to Novartis for not increasing your prices on prescription drugs. Likewise to Pfizer. We are making a big push to actually reduce the prices, maybe substantially, on prescription drugs," Trump said in a tweet.
Earlier this month Trump was able to persuade Pfizer CEO Ian Read to defer the company's planned price hikes, explaining in a call the company had complicated the administration's drug pricing plans.
Facing pressure from the Trump administration and lawmakers, Swiss drugmaker Novartis has also halted anticipated price increases.