President Trump's deregulatory agenda has reduced spending on pharmaceuticals by $26 billion since his inauguration, White House officials claimed in a new report Thursday.

The document, published by the Council of Economic Advisers, makes the case that government regulations were overly burdensome in getting generic drug applications reviewed for safety and brought to market. They say that having more drugs in the market, especially if they are cheaper generics, can help drive down prices.

"We find that growth in relative drug prices has slowed since January 2017, that generic drugs are being approved at a particularly rapid pace, and that savings from new generic entrants totaled about $26 billion as of July 2018," the document concludes.

Under the Trump administration, the FDA has approved a record number of generic drugs. The document touts Trump signing the reauthorization of a bipartisan bill that makes drugmakers pay a fee to the government when they apply to have their medicines reviewed, as well as a Food and Drug Administration plan to prioritize the approval of generics.

Drug spending accelerated during former President Barack Obama's second term, mostly because expensive drugs to cure the liver disease hepatitis C hit the market. The rate of growth slowed as more people took the drugs and rid their bodies of the infection after three months of a standard treatment.

The White House document credits the administration's "vocal advocacy" on high drug prices as a motivator for the slowing of prescription drug spending.

The report also concludes that more brand-name drugs hitting the market since Trump's presidency has improved people's health, providing an estimated $43 billion in benefits since January 2017.

[Also read: Pharma lobby blasts Trump's 'socialized' drug pricing plan]