President Donald Trump was holding a press conference in the Oval Office, with the nation's top pharmaceutical executives around him, visibly upset over the high cost of medicines, notably weight-loss drugs. That’s when the incident occurred. On Thursday, Gordon Findlay, a top executive of a pharmaceutical company, suddenly fainted right in front of Trump. He was immediately attended by medics, and the President himself monitored the condition with concern. Now, according to the White House, Findlay has completely recovered.
The prevalence of obesity has been a serious health concern in the US and has created an exceptionally high demand for weight-loss drugs. However, prices have been skyrocketing, and there have been complaints from all directions. Against this, President Trump took strict action to make it clear that the prices of drugs needed to come down and by how much. The agreement regarding the reduction of prices was going to be announced that day, and that’s when the incident happened.
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The Trump administration has signed the agreements with pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. Under the agreement, the prices of weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy and Zepbound will be made affordable for the middle class. As per an Associated Press report, during this agreement announcement, Gordon Findlay from Novo Nordisk fainted. Dr Mehmet Oz, chief of the Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), was also present at the event, who moved quickly to attempt to hold Findlay, but failed to get to him in time.
A journalist who uploaded the video on social media wrote that within moments, the entire Oval Office went silent - pin-drop silence. The Secret Service and the medical team rushed in. Trump watched the situation with visible concern. Later, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt issued a statement saying, “During the announcement of the ‘Most Favoured Nations’ initiative at the White House, a representative from one of the attending companies lost consciousness. The medical team acted swiftly, and the individual is now completely recovered. The press conference will resume shortly.”
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He intends to implement a government website called TrumpRx from 2026, through which all companies will sell their medicines, but at reasonable prices. In this respect, the President has launched the Most Favoured Nations Drug Pricing Initiative. He has said that the weight-loss drugs will be brought down to $149 after receiving approval from the FDA.
