US President Donald Trump has announced deals that aim to lower the cost of popular weight-loss drugs, as pharmaceutical prices take centre stage in his administration’s messaging around affordability.

Speaking alongside drug executives at the White House, Trump unveiled agreements with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. Consumers are set to pay between $245 and $350 per month for obesity drugs including Wegovy and Zepbound.

Many GLP-1 drugs, used to treat diabetes and obesity, cost over $1,000 a month without insurance or discounts.

The deals will expand Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk’s access to Medicare and Medicaid, the government’s public healthcare plans for elderly and low-income Americans.

Eli Lilly also said in a statement it would escape tariffs for three years as part of the agreement with the Trump administration.

An estimated 10% of Medicare beneficiaries will be eligible for expanded access to GLP-1 drugs, and will only pay $50, according to senior administration officials.

Those enrolled in Medicaid will see a rolling start date based on when states sign up to participate, the officials said.

Trump has long pushed for “most-favoured nations” prices – a policy aimed at aligning drug prices in the US with lower ones abroad.

The obesity drugs will be sold at discounted prices on the direct-to-consumer TrumpRx, a government-run website set to launch by January.

On TrumpRx, Wegovy and Zepbound will start at $350 per month on average, and drop to $250 within two years, administration officials said. The Medicare prices of Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound will be $245.

Along with Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, Eli Lilly’s weight-loss pill, orforglipron, will be sold for $149 for the lowest dose, Eli Lilly said in a statement. The company’s Zepbound medication will cost $299 for a starting dose.

Those prices are dependent on Food and Drug Administration approval of the pills.

“Lilly is in a unique position to work with the US government to rebalance the global system, expand access and lower costs for Americans,” David Ricks, Eli Lilly’s chief executive, said in a statement.

GLP-1 drugs are often not covered by private insurance. Federal law bans Medicare from covering the drugs when used for weight loss, though they usually are covered when used to treat diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Only 13 states provide coverage under Medicaid for weight loss purposes.

Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, speaking at the White House, said the deals were products of months of negotiations with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. He called obesity “the number one driver of chronic disease” in the US.

“This will be a lifesaver to them,” Kennedy said.

“It’s not a panacea, it’s not a silver bullet,” he added, stressing the importance of dietary changes and physical exercise.

Since July, Trump has been pressuring pharmaceutical firms to lower drug prices. He sent letters to 17 drug companies in the summer, giving them 60 days to respond to his demands for lower prices.

Pfizer was the first major drug maker to reach a deal with Trump, slashing prices for some medicines by up to 85% on the TrumpRx site. Pfizer also agreed to lower prescription drug prices for Medicaid.

AstraZeneca and EMD Serono have also reached deals with the administration in recent weeks.

Grand Theft Auto (GTA) maker Rockstar Games has been accused by a trade union of sacking staff in the UK to stop them from unionising.

The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), which represents people working in the gaming sector, said 31 workers were fired from Rockstar’s UK studios on 30 October.

The union led rallies outside the company’s offices in Edinburgh and London on Thursday to protest what it described as “the most blatant and ruthless act of union busting in the history of the games industry”.

The BBC has approached Rockstar’s parent company, Take-Two Interactive, for comment, which has reportedly claimed staff were sacked for sharing confidential information.

“Last week, we took action against a small number of individuals who were found to be distributing and discussing confidential information in a public forum, a violation of our company policies,” a Rockstar spokesperson told Bloomberg in a statement.

“This was in no way related to people’s right to join a union or engage in union activities.”

At large video game studios, information about game development is tightly controlled – with employees often signing agreements not to share confidential information.

Rockstar’s upcoming GTA 6 is expected to be one of the best-selling games of all time, with fans clamouring for any news ahead of its May 2026 release date – meaning security around any information will be heightened at the studio.

But union president Alex Marshall accused Rockstar of deflecting from the “real reason” for firing staff – which the IWGB believes is their union involvement.

“They are afraid of hard working staff privately discussing exercising their rights for a fairer workplace and a collective voice,” he said.

“Management are showing they don’t care about delays to GTA 6, and that they’re prioritising union busting by targeting the very people who make the game.”

According to the IWGB, the UK workers fired at the end of October were part of a group discussing forming a union at the company.

Mr Marshall said its only non-Rockstar employees were union organisers.

“We refute that confidential information was shared publicly,” IWGB said in a statement.

Dr Paolo Ruffino, senior lecturer in digital curation and computational creativity at Kings College London, said it was a “textbook” case of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) being used by gaming firms.

“They’re used at every level in gaming, creating a culture of secrecy that makes investigating working conditions nearly impossible,” he said.

“The real question is whether these dismissals were about leaked information or protected union activity – a distinction UK employment law requires but which NDA allegations make difficult to prove.”

Speaking to the BBC at a picket outside the Rockstar North office in Edinburgh, organiser Fred Carter said he was standing alongside staff who had been sacked “without warning” and “without reason”.

“They’ve been fired, we believe, because they’re union members – which is a protected activity in the UK,” he said.

“We’re asking people to come out and support us, to demand their jobs back and demand accountability from Rockstar.”

A former employee speaking at the Edinburgh rally said there was a “power imbalance” at play in conversations with management.

“Not everyone is comfortable speaking up, and even when you do you can get shut down because you’re just one person,” they said.