Washington, April 24 : US President Donald Trump announced sweeping agreements with major pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug costs, calling it â??the biggest cut in drug prices in the history of our country.â??

Speaking at the White House, Trump said one of the leading firms, Regeneron, had agreed to offer medicines at â??most favoured nation prices,â?? adding that â??the numbers will come down at levels that nobodyâ??s ever seen before.â??

â??With this announcement, 17 of the worldâ??s largest pharmaceutical companies, representing 80 percent of the branded drug market, have now agreed to sell their drugs to American patients at the lowest prices anywhere in the world,â?? he said.

Trump argued that Americans had long paid disproportionately high prices. â??For decades, Americans have been forced to pay the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs, by far,â?? he said.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. backed the move, calling it a response to a long-standing â??rip offâ?? in which the United States accounts for â??4.2 per cent of the worldâ??s populationâ?? but generates â??75 per cent of the profits to the pharmaceutical industry.â??

Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Mehmet Oz said affordability had been central to the policy push. â??One in three Americansâ?¦ will often leave empty-handed because they cannot afford the medications,â?? he said.

The administration highlighted specific price cuts, including a cholesterol drug falling â??from $537 to $225â?? and a weight-loss drug dropping â??from $1,350 a month to as low as $199 a month.â??

Regeneronâ??s CEO Leonard Schleifer said the company supported efforts to rebalance global pricing. â??We were not pushed to be here. We are happy to be here because it marks an important step to lower drug prices,â?? he said.

The company also announced a gene therapy for a rare form of deafness, which it said would be provided free to eligible children for a period. George Yancopoulos described the treatment as â??a first of its kind gene therapyâ?¦ so Travis can now hear his mother.â??

Sierra Smith, whose two-year-old son received the therapy, called the outcome â??absolutely incredible,â?? adding, â??now he can hearâ?¦ itâ??s life changing.â??

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the policy was also tied to domestic manufacturing. â??That means $448 billion of drug manufacturing is coming to America,â?? he said.

The White House said the agreements now cover about 86 per cent of the branded pharmaceutical market, with further negotiations underway.

/IANS