\n President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a multipronged effort aimed at lowering drug costs in the United States, including the creation of a \u201cTrumpRx\u201d direct-to-consumer website where Americans can buy medicine at discounted prices and a sweeping deal with Pfizer to reduce the prices of many of its products.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe United States is done subsidizing the health care of the rest of the world,\u201d Trump said at a news conference. \u201cBy taking this bold step, we\u2019re ending the era of global price gouging at the expense of American families.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Pfizer is the first drugmaker to voluntarily agree to all the demands Trump laid out in a July letter<\/a> to pharmaceutical company CEOs. The president signaled others might soon follow.\n <\/p>\n \n Pfizer will sell drugs to Medicaid and set prices of new drugs at \u201cMost Favored Nation\u201d<\/a> levels, the lowest price made available in peer countries. It will sell many of its primary care medicines and some specialty brand-name drugs at a 50% savings, on average, at TrumpRx, the company said. And it will expand its domestic manufacturing, while receiving a three-year reprieve on certain tariffs on pharmaceutical imports.\n <\/p>\n \n The TrumpRx site, which will not go live until early 2026, will not sell or distribute medications, a senior administration official told reporters Tuesday. Consumers will be able search for their medicines and will be redirected to manufacturers\u2019 direct-to-consumer channels.\n <\/p>\n \n The efforts come as Trump has been haranguing drugmakers for months to lower their prices for US patients. But he acknowledged on Tuesday that his actions may result in prices rising in other countries, while coming down in America \u2014 calling that \u201cfair.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Industry experts have questioned whether his efforts will truly lower the prices Americans pay for drugs, which often depend on insurance coverage. Also, there are multiple players in the drug industry supply chain that contribute to the cost of medications, including insurers and pharmacy benefit managers, which serve as middlemen between manufacturers and insurance companies.\n <\/p>\n \n Trump has long fixated on the fact that Americans pay far more for medications than people in peer countries, particularly in Europe, largely because their governments often determine the cost. Prices are nearly three times as high in the US as they are in comparable countries, according to a Health and Human Services Department report<\/a> released last year. Trump tried unsuccessfully to institute \u201cMost Favored Nation\u201d pricing<\/a> during his first term.\n <\/p>\n \n The president revived the effort in May, issuing an executive order<\/a> that directed drugmakers to start offering US patients the \u201cMost Favored Nation\u201d prices for their medicines or face consequences. He told HHS to come up with price targets within 30 days.\n <\/p>\n \n Unhappy with the progress, Trump wrote to the CEOs of 17 major pharmaceutical companies \u2014 including Pfizer \u2014 with a list of demands. The president gave the companies until Monday to comply.\n <\/p>\n \n The administration also sought on Tuesday to clarify what it means by \u201cMost Favored Nation\u201d pricing, saying it is based on the price people pay for a medication \u2014 the so-called net price, which takes into account discounts and rebates. The net price is then compared with the lowest price for the medication in other wealthy countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Denmark. That becomes the starting point for the \u201cMost Favored Nation\u201d price in the US.\n <\/p>\n \n Offering \u201cMost Favored Nation\u201d pricing in Medicaid, which already receives hefty discounts, could save state agencies and the federal government money, but enrollees already pay little to nothing for medications.\n <\/p>\n \n Pfizer will start offering Medicaid the \u201cMost Favored Nation\u201d prices in early 2026.\n <\/p>\n \n Additional manufacturers have already negotiated deals with the administration, while others are in progress and still more companies are waiting to start discussions, the senior administration official said.\n <\/p>\n \n In addition to matching global pricing, Trump has become enamored with trying to lower prices by having drugmakers sell their products directly to consumers. He did not provide many details on the TrumpRx site in his news conference, though a White House fact sheet indicated the price break would be off a drug\u2019s list price, which is before other discounts and rebates are applied.\n <\/p>\n \n Several manufacturers have already set up such channels where US patients can buy medications without going through insurance.\n <\/p>\n \n For instance, Novo Nordisk announced last month that US patients can now get a month\u2019s supply of Ozempic<\/a>, the blockbuster diabetes drug, for $499, for those who pay for medications on their own and don\u2019t go through insurance. The company is making Ozempic, which carries a list price of just under $1,000 per month, available at its NovoCare Pharmacy, which ships medications directly to cash-paying consumers.\n <\/p>\n \n On Monday, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, known as PhRMA, rolled out AmericasMedicines.com<\/a>, a website that will connect patients with drug companies\u2019 direct-purchase programs. It noted Trump\u2019s call for such offerings.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cSome manufacturers are responding by offering new direct purchase programs that are more convenient and can save patients time and money \u2014 no hidden markups or fees and transparent pricing for patients and businesses,\u201d PhRMA said in a statement.\n <\/p>\n \n However, at least one drug industry expert threw cold water on the idea of consumers getting better deals on TrumpRx.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cNew Trump drug website is likely irrelevant as few will pay out of pocket\u201d unless there are changes in insurance policies, Chris Meekins, managing director of health policy research at Raymond James, wrote in a note to clients.\n <\/p>\n \n The drug industry has warned any \u201cMost Favored Nation\u201d directives could have serious ramifications.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cImporting foreign price controls would undermine American leadership, hurting patients and workers,\u201d Alex Schriver, senior vice president at PhRMA, said in a statement in July.\n <\/p>\n \n The announcement comes just one day ahead of the Trump\u2019s deadline for a 100% tariff<\/a> on brand-name pharmaceutical imports \u2014 unless the drugmaker is building a manufacturing plant<\/a> in the US. (Imports from the European Union, a major source of brand-name drug products, will face a 15% levy, per a trade agreement<\/a> inked earlier this year.)\n <\/p>\n \n As part of Tuesday\u2019s announcement, Pfizer said it will invest an additional $70 billion on research and manufacturing projects in coming years. The company will receive a three-year grace period on tariffs the administration plans to impose.\n <\/p>\n \n Overall, Trump\u2019s announcement probably won\u2019t be a big blow to drugmakers, Meekins said.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIf this is all that President Trump does on drug pricing, it is likely a win for the pharmaceutical industry,\u201d he said.\n <\/p>\n \n Tuesday\u2019s move is among Trump\u2019s recent efforts to get drugmakers to reduce their prices, which has been one of his central goals since his first presidential campaign. He has recently promised to slash prices by 1,500%<\/a> \u2014 which is mathematically impossible, experts say.\n <\/p>\n \n While drugmakers have warily watched as Trump ramps up his rhetoric, industry experts have questioned whether the president\u2019s previously announced steps would have much of an impact on either manufacturers or patients. The president does not have the legal authority to require drug companies to set their products at \u201cMost Favored Nation\u201d prices.\n <\/p>\n