June 11, 2025 — Washington, D.C. — The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced today a series of public listening sessions aimed at tackling high prescription drug prices by boosting competition in pharmaceutical markets. The initiative, mandated by President Trump’s Executive Order No. 14273, seeks to explore strategies for making medicines more affordable by reducing regulatory barriers and curbing anti-competitive practices.
The listening sessions will be held in partnership with the Department of Commerce and the Department of Health and Human Services, and will be led by Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater and FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson.
“Lowering prescription drug prices is a top priority for this administration,” said Slater. “These sessions will help shape the policy tools we use to break down monopolistic barriers and unleash the power of competition in the pharmaceutical sector.”
The series will include input from practitioners, scholars, and policy experts, and will address topics such as generic and biosimilar drug availability, prescription benefit designs, and rent-seeking behavior that impedes competition. Insights gathered will inform a forthcoming joint FTC-DOJ report on anti-competitive conduct in pharmaceutical markets.
Listening Session Schedule:
- Monday, June 30 at 2:00 PM ET
Topic: Anticompetitive Conduct by Pharmaceutical Companies Impeding Generic or Biosimilar Competition - Thursday, July 24 at 2:00 PM ET
Topic: Formulary and Benefit Practices and Regulatory Abuse Impacting Drug Competition - Monday, August 4 at 2:00 PM ET
Topic: Turning Insights into Action to Reduce Drug Prices
Each session will be livestreamed on the FTC and DOJ websites, with videos and transcripts made available afterward. Additional details and speaker information will be posted on the agencies’ event pages ahead of each session.
This effort marks a significant step in fulfilling the executive order’s call to “Lower Drug Prices by Once Again Putting Americans First”—a directive that reaffirms the administration’s focus on affordability, access, and fair competition in the healthcare marketplace.
