{"id":61216,"date":"2026-04-23T11:38:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T15:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/iran-imposes-strait-of-hormuz-transit-tolls-white-house-finalizes-drug-pricing-deal-with-regeneron\/61216\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T11:38:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T15:38:25","slug":"iran-imposes-strait-of-hormuz-transit-tolls-white-house-finalizes-drug-pricing-deal-with-regeneron","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/iran-imposes-strait-of-hormuz-transit-tolls-white-house-finalizes-drug-pricing-deal-with-regeneron\/61216\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran Imposes Strait of Hormuz Transit Tolls; White House Finalizes Drug Pricing Deal with Regeneron"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Iran&#39;s Central Bank<\/strong> confirms receipt of the first <strong>hard currency<\/strong> payments for transit through the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>, with fees for large tankers estimated at up to <strong>$2 million<\/strong> per passage.<\/li>\n<li>The <strong>White House<\/strong> is scheduled to announce a comprehensive drug pricing agreement with <strong>Regeneron (<a href=\"\/stock\/REGN\">REGN<\/a>)<\/strong> later today, marking the final deal in a year-long campaign involving 17 major pharmaceutical firms.<\/li>\n<li><strong>BIMCO<\/strong>, the world&#39;s largest international shipping association, has called for a <strong>&quot;stable ceasefire and assurances&quot;<\/strong> before normal commercial transit can resume, citing the ongoing threat of sea mines.<\/li>\n<li>Under the new deal, <strong>Regeneron (<a href=\"\/stock\/REGN\">REGN<\/a>)<\/strong> will cap the price of its cholesterol drug <strong>Praluent<\/strong> at <strong>$225<\/strong> and offer its new gene therapy, <strong>Otarmeni<\/strong>, for free to patients in need.<\/li>\n<li>Geopolitical tensions remain at a peak as the <strong>Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)<\/strong> enforces a &quot;permit-only&quot; transit system, effectively monetizing one of the world&#39;s most critical energy chokepoints.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Iran Formalizes &quot;Tehran Tollbooth&quot; in Strait of Hormuz<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>Iranian Central Bank<\/strong> announced Thursday that it has successfully collected its first transit fees in <strong>hard currency<\/strong> from commercial vessels navigating the <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>. According to reports from the <strong>Fars News Agency<\/strong>, the new &quot;permit-only&quot; system requires ships to coordinate directly with the <strong>Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)<\/strong> and provide detailed cargo and ownership data before being granted passage.<\/p>\n<p>Industry sources estimate that the tolls are being set at approximately <strong>$1 per barrel<\/strong>, meaning a typical supertanker carrying 2 million barrels of oil could face a <strong>$2 million<\/strong> fee. While the <strong>Iranian Central Bank<\/strong> confirmed the receipt of hard currency, secondary reports suggest that payments are also being accepted in <strong>Chinese yuan<\/strong> and <strong>cryptocurrency<\/strong> to bypass existing financial sanctions.<\/p>\n<p>The international shipping community has reacted with alarm to the move, which <strong>U.S. officials<\/strong> have characterized as a violation of international maritime law. <strong>BIMCO<\/strong> safety officials emphasized that even with a permit, transit remains hazardous due to the presence of sea mines, and have demanded a formal security guarantee from both <strong>Washington<\/strong> and <strong>Tehran<\/strong> to prevent further vessel seizures.<\/p>\n<h2>White House Secures Final Pharma Deal with Regeneron<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>White House<\/strong> is poised to announce a landmark pricing agreement with <strong>Regeneron (<a href=\"\/stock\/REGN\">REGN<\/a>)<\/strong> this afternoon, ending a high-stakes standoff with the final holdout of the administration&#39;s &quot;Most Favored Nation&quot; pricing initiative. The deal follows months of intense pressure, during which the administration used the threat of <strong>Section 232 tariffs<\/strong> to bring the pharmaceutical giant to the negotiating table.<\/p>\n<p>As part of the settlement, <strong>Regeneron (<a href=\"\/stock\/REGN\">REGN<\/a>)<\/strong> has agreed to significant price reductions for <strong>Medicaid<\/strong> and will list several key medications on the <strong>TrumpRx.gov<\/strong> discount portal. A centerpiece of the announcement is expected to be the company&#39;s commitment to provide its newly approved gene therapy, <strong>Otarmeni<\/strong>, at no cost to children suffering from a specific type of rare hearing loss.<\/p>\n<p><em>Market analysts suggest that while the deal reduces long-term regulatory uncertainty for Regeneron, the mandatory price caps on high-volume drugs like Praluent could impact the company&#39;s near-term revenue projections.<\/em> In exchange for these concessions, <strong>Regeneron (<a href=\"\/stock\/REGN\">REGN<\/a>)<\/strong> will receive a three-year exemption from new pharmaceutical tariffs, aligning it with the 16 other major drugmakers that signed similar agreements earlier this year.<\/p>\n<h2>Geopolitical Standoff Chokes Global Energy Routes<\/h2>\n<p>The dual developments in the <strong>Persian Gulf<\/strong> and the <strong>White House<\/strong> underscore a period of intense economic and geopolitical volatility. The <strong>Strait of Hormuz<\/strong>, which typically handles <strong>20% of the world&#39;s traded oil<\/strong>, remains effectively closed to any vessel not complying with Iran&#39;s new tolling regime.<\/p>\n<p><em>Shipping and insurance costs have surged as a result of the &quot;Tehran Tollbooth,&quot; with some carriers opting for the lengthy and expensive detour around the Cape of Good Hope.<\/em> Meanwhile, the <strong>U.S. military<\/strong> has reportedly intensified mine-clearing operations in the region, even as <strong>President <a href=\"https:\/\/thestockmarketwatch.com\/live\/trump-stock-market\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Trump\">Trump<\/a><\/strong> maintains that the U.S. will &quot;dictate the timeline&quot; for any potential resolution to the maritime blockade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Iran&#39;s Central Bank confirms receipt of the first hard currency payments for transit through the Strait of Hormuz, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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