US announces prices in Medicare drug negotiations

(Reuters) - The U.S. announced the final prices of its first ever negotiation over prescription drugs on Thursday, with Merck's diabetes drug Januvia seeing the steepest percentage cut at 79%.

The government negotiated prices for 10 of the most expensive medicines for its Medicare program serving Americans age 65 or older and the disabled, which covers 66 million people.

Those drugs include top-selling blood thinner Eliquis from Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer and Merck & Co's Januvia.

(Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein in Washington, Deena Beasley in Los Angeles and Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; editing by Caroline Humer and Josie Kao)