On Thursday, President Donald Trump officially announced the launch of a new website called TrumpRx.gov during a national television address, aiming to allow American citizens to purchase certain prescription drugs directly from pharmaceutical manufacturers at significantly discounted prices.
In his speech, Trump stated that this initiative represents the largest reduction in prescription drug prices in American history, with an unprecedented level of decrease in costs.
According to the White House, the core of TrumpRx lies in bypassing intermediaries to directly connect patients with pharmaceutical companies, thereby lowering drug prices. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt mentioned in a press conference on the same day that the platform is expected to save millions of American households on medical expenses.
Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and Joe Gebbia, head of the National Design Studio, also attended the related unveiling event to introduce how the website operates.
Based on the Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) pricing policy of the Trump administration, TrumpRx allows American patients to pay prices equivalent to the lowest prices in other developed countries.
The website was first disclosed by Trump on September 30th of last year, positioned as a “pharmaceutical manufacturer direct sales platform.” Officially, the website does not directly sell drugs itself but provides search and matching services for patients, guiding them to pharmaceutical companies that offer direct sales programs.
Officials from the Trump administration pointed out that one of the significant reasons for high drug prices is the existence of intermediaries like Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBM). These entities negotiate prices between insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies, but the discounts may not always be fully passed on to patients. By cutting out intermediaries, TrumpRx hopes to directly reduce the actual drug costs for patients and avoid the administrative costs commonly found in the insurance system.
Participating companies include Pfizer, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, among others, which have signed MFN pricing agreements with the Trump administration and have pledged to provide substantial discounts through the TrumpRx platform.
Several companies have announced specific discount plans. Pfizer stated that it will offer an average of around 50% discount for most major drugs on the platform, with discounts up to 85%. Amgen announced that their cholesterol-lowering injectable drug Repatha will be sold at nearly a 60% discount, reducing the monthly fee to $239 (originally priced at around $573 in the U.S.).
Additionally, British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca stated that it will offer all major primary care medicines to American patients through TrumpRx, with particularly significant discounts on respiratory system disease medications like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, with some drugs receiving discounts of over 80%.
Meanwhile, companies like Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are also advancing their direct sales or collaboration schemes, indicating a growing trend of pharmaceutical companies engaging directly with consumers.
Unlike traditional insurance channels, purchasing drugs through TrumpRx does not involve a “pre-approval” process. This means that patients do not need to submit medical necessity proofs to insurance companies beforehand and can directly purchase medication, avoiding situations where medication usage is affected by approval delays or refusals.
According to data from the healthcare policy organization KFF, patients with commercial insurance typically pay out-of-pocket percentages ranging from 18% to 27% of the retail price for brand-name prescription drugs, with some high-cost drugs potentially exceeding $1,000 in out-of-pocket expenses.
Marty Makary, director of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), mentioned that patients with higher out-of-pocket percentages among the insured population may also significantly reduce their medication costs through this platform.
American citizens can visit trumprx.gov to check for eligible drugs, discount details, and purchase methods. The website is free to use, and users do not need to register an account to search for information.