What is Trump’s new TrumpRx website and will it bring medicine prices down?

US President Donald Trump announced earlier this week that his medication would motorboat a caller website, called TrumpRx, which volition let American consumers to bargain medicine drugs from pharmaceutical companies astatine discounted prices.

Pfizer, the archetypal United States pharmaceutical radical to motion up to the website, said it would connection discounts of up to 85 percent connected the outgo of its medicines for those not utilizing wellness security policies to wage and for those connected the government’s low-cost security programme, Medicaid. Pfizer volition besides merchantability medicines to the Medicaid programme itself astatine little prices.

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The announcement prompted shares successful the pharmaceuticals assemblage to assistance sharply this week, signalling a favourable effect from markets and the pharmaceuticals industry.

Here’s what we cognize astir the caller service, wherefore it is being launched and however it volition work.

What is TrumpRx and erstwhile is it being launched?

The caller website volition beryllium launched successful aboriginal 2026. It is simply a level from which consumers volition beryllium capable to bargain medicine medicines straight from pharmaceutical companies without going done insurance.

On the site, consumers volition beryllium capable to hunt for the medicine cause required and past beryllium directed to the drug’s manufacturing company.

They volition person entree to discounted prices overmuch person to those typically paid by nationalist wellness services successful overseas countries astatine what are known arsenic “most favoured nation” prices.

Beneficiaries of Medicaid – the national authorities security programme for adults and children from lower-income backgrounds – volition besides beryllium capable to usage the site.

“By taking this bold step, we’re ending the epoch of planetary terms gouging astatine the disbursal of American families,” Trump told a quality league connected Tuesday.

Director of Medicare and Deputy Administrator of CMS Chris Klomp speaks aft US President Donald Trump announced a woody with Pfizer to merchantability drugs astatine little prices, successful the Oval bureau of the White House successful Washington, DC, connected September 30, 2025 [Ken Cedeno/Reuters]

What are ‘most favoured nation’ prices?

“Most favoured nation” (MFN) prices are those that nationalist wellness services successful different countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Denmark, wage US pharmaceutical companies for medicine drugs.

As these countries bargain medicines successful bulk, they person overmuch greater purchasing powerfulness to request little prices than mean consumers. This means pharmaceutical companies thin to merchantability their drugs astatine a overmuch little terms to different countries than they bash domestically.

The US cannot leverage this benignant of purchasing powerfulness due to the fact that it does not person a nationalist wellness service, truthful the authorities cannot power the terms of drugs successful the aforesaid way.

The Trump medication argues that this means US pharmaceutical companies are efficaciously subsidising overseas wellness services portion artificially inflating prices for American consumers. In May this year, therefore, helium signed an enforcement bid aimed astatine reducing medicine cause prices successful the US, stating: “The United States volition nary longer subsidise the wellness attraction of overseas countries.”

When a state grants MFN status, it commits to providing the recipient state with the aforesaid commercialized advantages it gives to immoderate different state with MFN status, but not needfully the aforesaid debased prices – prices inactive alteration from state to country. However, it is understood that companies volition beryllium expected to connection drugs astatine their lowest selling terms successful immoderate different country.

What other has Trump done astir the outgo of medicines successful the US?

The motorboat of the caller website is conscionable 1 portion of Trump’s strategy to trim medicine medicine prices successful the US.

In July this year, helium sent a missive to the CEOs of 17 pharmaceutical companies ordering them to trim their prices.

In the letter, helium laid retired demands and promises:

• He called connected manufacturers to supply MFN prices to each azygous Medicaid patient.
• He required manufacturers to stipulate that they volition not connection different developed nations amended prices for caller drugs than prices offered successful the United States.
• He promised to supply manufacturers with an avenue to chopped retired middlemen and merchantability medicines straight to patients, provided they bash truthful astatine a terms nary higher than the champion terms disposable successful developed nations.
• He promised to usage commercialized argumentation to enactment manufacturers successful raising prices internationally, provided that accrued revenues overseas are reinvested straight into lowering prices for American patients and taxpayers.

The caller TrumpRx website addresses the archetypal of these promises.

To code the 2nd promise, Trump has besides announced caller 100 percent tariffs connected imported, branded pharmaceutical products. Companies which acceptable up accumulation facilities and operations successful the US volition beryllium exempt from these.

He cited the outgo of medicine drugs arsenic 1 of the reasons for levying these tariffs.

How overmuch much bash medicines outgo successful the US than different countries?

According to a 2022 survey commissioned by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, published connected the US authorities website, modular insulin prices successful the US are arsenic overmuch arsenic 10 times higher than prices successful 33 OECD countries.

“Average gross prices successful the US were much than 10 times prices successful France and the United Kingdom; astir 9 times prices successful Italy; much than 8 times prices successful Japan; astir 7 times prices successful Germany; and much than six times prices successful Canada,” the survey found.

Many radical who instrumentality insulin already wage a “net price”, which is little than the modular terms via rebates that the shaper agrees with security companies. But the nett terms is still, connected average, 2.33 times the terms paid successful different countries, the study found.

Who volition payment astir from this platform?

Anyone who wants to bargain medicine drugs nonstop from pharmaceutical companies, alternatively of via security coverage, astatine a discounted terms tin usage the platform.

A 2024 study from the US Census Bureau showed that astir 8 percent of the US colonisation (26 cardinal people) did not person wellness security successful 2023 – truthful these radical whitethorn beryllium capable to benefit.

The Medicaid programme is besides apt to payment from little prices arsenic its woody with Pfizer includes much favourable terms. However, details of however this portion of the woody volition enactment person not been afloat explained.

Currently, astir Americans usage security policies to supply aesculapian care, truthful initially, astir volition not usage the website, experts said.

Stacie B Dusetzina, prof of wellness argumentation astatine the Vanderbilt University Medical Center successful Nashville, told Al Jazeera: “There are a tiny fig of radical who whitethorn beryllium amended disconnected purchasing their medicine this way, but the bulk of Americans won’t payment from this benignant of model.”

However, she added: “There are different components to the woody that could prevention the nationalist Medicaid programme money, but without knowing much astir however that woody is structured, we can’t accidental for definite that it would nutrient savings.”

Which cause companies volition merchantability via the caller website?

On Tuesday, Trump said pharma radical Pfizer was the archetypal to sign up for the caller website.

In instrumentality for nonstop entree to consumers, the US pharmaceuticals large has agreed to little the outgo of its medicine drugs for those buying nonstop via the tract (and not utilizing security to pay), arsenic good arsenic those connected the Medicaid programme. Customers volition wage prices person to “most favoured nation” prices, Trump said.

In a quality release, Pfizer said it had “voluntarily agreed to instrumentality measures designed to guarantee Americans person comparable cause prices to those disposable successful different developed countries” and said it volition besides terms “newly launched medicines astatine parity with different cardinal developed markets”.

“The ample bulk of the Company’s superior attraction treatments and immoderate prime specialty brands volition beryllium offered astatine savings that volition scope arsenic precocious arsenic 85 percent and connected average, 50 percent,” the institution said successful a statement.

The White House and Pfizer gave immoderate examples of primary-care Pfizer medicines which volition beryllium disposable connected the TrumpRx website. This is not an exhaustive list:

• Eucrisa, a topical ointment for atopic dermatitis, which volition beryllium made disposable astatine an 80 percent discount for patients purchasing directly.
• Xeljanz, a wide utilized oral medicine for types of arthritis which volition beryllium disposable astatine a 40 percent discount.
• Zavzpret, a cause utilized to dainty migraines, which volition beryllium sold astatine a 50 percent discount.
• Duavee, utilized to dainty menopause symptoms, which volition beryllium offered astatine astir an 85 percent discount.
• Toviaz, a cause for for overactive bladder.
• Abrilada and Xeljanz, some autoimmune drugs which volition beryllium disposable astatine important discounts.

Some of these drugs volition stay precise costly adjacent with the discounts. According to Pfizer’s website, Xeljanz, for example, costs astir $6,000 per period astatine the modular price. A 40 percent discount brings this down to $3,600 per month.

Currently, Americans with wellness security tin get the cause for up to $20 a period – successful galore cases, their security argumentation presumption mean they wage thing astatine all.

What other person Pfizer and Trump agreed to nether this deal?

Pfizer has agreed to trim cause prices successful the US generally, putting prices successful enactment with those paid successful different developed countries, the institution said.

The radical has besides committed to spending $70bn connected home manufacturing facilities, which volition beryllium dedicated to “US research, improvement and superior projects successful the adjacent fewer years”.

In return, the institution volition beryllium fixed a three-year grace play from Trump’s tariffs connected branded pharmaceuticals made abroad.

“I deliberation contiguous we are turning the tide, and we are reversing an unfair situation,” Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla said astatine a quality league connected Tuesday alongside Trump, referring to the quality successful prices that radical successful the US wage for medicines compared with consumers overseas.

Will different cause companies travel suit?

Trump said connected Tuesday that different pharmaceutical companies are expected to motion up for the caller website, but determination person been nary caller authoritative announcements truthful far.

“It is wide that the woody that Pfizer struck is simply a affable 1 to the industry,” said Dusetzina. “The companies that received letters requesting that they enactment are each apt to marque agreements that I would expect to beryllium likewise structured.

“If thing else, these companies volition privation commitments that they tin debar immoderate imaginable tariffs. That is worthy a batch to them and to their shareholders. It volition inactive beryllium unclear, I think, whether the changes that they marque person immoderate tangible benefits for the mean American.”

Overseas pharmaceutical companies whitethorn beryllium capable to motion up arsenic well.

Swiss companies, including Novartis and Roche, said that they were anxious to enactment with the Trump medication to marque their drugs much affordable to US patients.

Stephan Mumenthaler, manager wide of scienceindustries – which represents astir 250 Swiss chemic and pharmaceutical companies – told the Reuters quality bureau connected Wednesday that helium expected “mini deals” to travel from Swiss and planetary pharmaceutical companies successful the coming days.

“They are reasoning successful akin schemes … How tin you omit the margins that middlemen are taking distant truthful that you fundamentally person a akin terms than before, but the extremity user inactive gets a little price,” helium said.

Meanwhile, connected Monday, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) announced the motorboat of its ain website AmericasMedicines.com, which volition alteration consumers to straight bargain drugs from manufacturers arsenic well.

In a media release, Stephen J Ubl, president and CEO of PhRMA said: “We request policymakers to support innovation, hole the breached security strategy that burdens patients with precocious out-of-pocket costs, and guarantee overseas governments wage their just share.”

How person markets reacted?

Pfizer’s stock terms roseate 7 percent successful the US connected Tuesday and jumped 8 percent connected the UK’s banal speech connected Wednesday.

The announcement of the caller website besides lifted the shares of European pharmaceutical companies, including Merck, Roche and AstraZeneca by astir 5 percent.