Merck KGaA strikes IVF pricing deal with Trump administration

German pharma group Merck (MRK: DE) has become the third company to strike a cost-cutting agreement with the Trump administration, joining Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) in pledging steep price reductions in exchange for relief from planned US tariffs on drug imports.

Merck’s US subsidiary EMD Serono will provide its portfolio of fertility therapies, including Gonal-f (follitropin alfa), Ovidrel (choriogonadotropin alfa) and Cetrotide (cetrorelix acetate), at discounts of up to 84% when used in a standard IVF protocol. The therapies will be made available via the new TrumpRx direct-to-consumer channel launching in January, while remaining accessible through regular pharmacy distribution.

The deal also extends to Merck’s next-generation fertility therapy Pergoveris, already approved in Europe, which will be reviewed in the US under the regulator’s new Commissioner's national priority voucher scheme, cutting approval timelines to as little as one month. The White House said the agreement could save patients around $2,200 per IVF cycle.