The website, when it launches, is expected to allow people to buy drugs directly from manufacturers. But some experts doubt it will help many patients.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the creation of “TrumpRx,” a direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical website, as part of a larger effort at cutting drug prices in the U.S.
Trump made the announcement at the White House alongside Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, as the drugmaker confirmed it would participate in the TrumpRx program.
What is TrumpRx?
The website, when it launches, is expected to allow people to buy drugs directly from manufacturers. Pfizer said many of its treatments will be offered at discounts that average 50% through that platform.
The TrumpRx website is expected to go live sometime in 2026 but will not sell or distribute medicines. Instead, according to senior White House officials, consumers will be able to search for their current medications and will be redirected to the manufacturers’ direct-to-consumer channels.
Will TrumpRx save patients money?
Vanderbilt University Medical Center professor Stacie Dusetzina, an expert in prescription drug pricing, told the Associated Press that only a few patients will actually see lower prices.
“Theoretically there are some who will benefit, but in general this is not a solution for lowering drug prices,” she said.
Patients in Medicaid, the state and federally funded program for people with low incomes, already pay a nominal co-payment of a few dollars to fill their prescriptions, but lower prices could help state budgets that fund the programs.
Lower drug prices also will help patients who have no insurance coverage and little leverage to negotiate better deals on what they pay. But even steep discounts of 50% found through the administration’s website could still leave patients paying hundreds of dollars a month for some prescriptions.
Why is Trump launching a prescription drug platform?
Trump has been talking for months about the need to lower drug prices and to boost U.S. drug manufacturing.
The agreement with Pfizer builds on an executive order Trump signed in May, setting a deadline for drugmakers to electively lower prices or face new limits on what the government will pay. Trump said deals with other drug companies would be coming over the next week.
“I can’t tell you how big this is,” the president said Tuesday.
The president is also putting an emphasis on U.S. drug manufacturers. Last week, he said he would impose an import tax of 100% on pharmaceutical drugs coming into the U.S. from outside the country, as part of his wider tariff policy.
Trump said on Truth Social that the pharmaceutical tariffs would not apply to companies that are building manufacturing plants in the United States, which he defined as either “breaking ground” or being “under construction.” It was unclear how the tariffs would apply to companies that already have factories in the U.S.
In 2024, America imported nearly $233 billion in pharmaceutical and medicinal products, according to the Census Bureau. The prospect of prices doubling for some medicines could send shock waves to voters as health care expenses, as well as the costs of Medicare and Medicaid, potentially increase.
The pharmaceutical drug announcement was shocking as Trump has previously suggested that tariffs would be phased in over time so that companies had time to build factories and relocate production. On CNBC in August, Trump said he would start by charging a “small tariff” on pharmaceuticals and raise the rate over a year or more to 150% and even 250%.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.