Trump announces deal to reduce cost of specific IVF medication

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump announced a deal on Thursday between his administration and pharmaceutical company EMD Serono to reduce the cost of some fertility medications.

Senior administration officials have said this deal will help millions of American women struggling to conceive with their ability to afford the expensive treatment. 

Trump pledged to expand IVF access for Americans struggling to start families — making it a point of his presidential campaign. In February, he signed an executive order looking into how to lower costs and reduce barriers to IVF.

This deal “delivers on the president’s pledge,” an official said. 

“In the Trump administration, we want to make it easier for couples to have babies, raise children and start the families they’ve always dreamed out,” Trump said during an announcement from the Oval Office.

Trump said EMD Serono, the largest fertility drug manufacturer in the world, has agreed to provide discounts for the cost of fertility drugs the company sells in the U.S., including its most popular, Gonal-f, which treats infertility in women and men.

Officials told ABC News a fertility drug typically costs between $5,000 and $6,000 per cycle, the officials said, and only about 30% of families have access to some sort of employer-based coverage. 

Trump said EMD Serono will list its fertility drugs online at “very, very heavily reduced prices.”

“We’re pleased to announce that, depending on the patient’s income, the cost of drugs for a standard IVF cycle of infertility will decrease somewhere between 42 and 79% for families,” an official said, and “based on the results of this negotiation.”

The official said those drugs will be available in early 2026.

In 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) stated the cost for a single cycle of IVF can range from $15,000 to $20,000, and can surpass $30,000 if a donor egg is involved.

The average number of cycles needed to become pregnant from IVF is 2.5, meaning the average cost of IVF to conceive successfully can exceed $40,000, according to the HHS.

In May, Trump signed an executive order to pressure companies to only charge U.S. patients the same rate as they charge in other countries, an effort called “most favored nation” pricing.

This kicked off a monthslong campaign to pressure pharmaceutical companies to drop their prices voluntarily, without regulation. 

The White House also said that the two specialty pharmacies that account for more than 80% of the distribution of the drug — CVS Specialty Pharmacy and Express Scripts Freedom Fertility Pharmacy — told the administration they would “materially reduce their expenses associated with the handling of this drug, while still ensuring access to all families who wish to use it.”