TrumpRx: What It Is and Why It’s Smaller Than It Sounds

What Is TrumpRx?

Imagine a special government website where you can find cheaper prices on brand-name prescription medicines. That’s TrumpRx!

• It was launched by President Trump’s team on February 5.
• The goal is to make prescription medicines more affordable.
• It carries President Trump’s own name.
• Drug companies made deals with the Trump administration and put some of their medicines on the site at lower prices.

Important Point: TrumpRx is part of President Trump’s big push to lower drug prices in the U.S.

How TrumpRx Started

Let’s go back to the beginning, explained like a simple story:

1. In May 2025, President Trump signed an order (like a rule from the president) to try to make U.S. drug prices match or beat prices in other wealthy countries.
2. Last summer, the administration sent letters to 17 drug companies with a list of demands.
3. The demands included selling drugs directly to regular people at lower prices.
4. Companies had 60 days to do this voluntarily, or the government said it would "use every tool" to stop what it called unfair pricing.
5. There were private talks, and a threat of taxes on imported drugs (tariffs) while they checked if those imports were a security risk.
6. In the fall, the administration started announcing deals with companies, beginning with Pfizer.
7. At the same time, they announced they would create TrumpRx.
8. All 17 companies that got letters eventually announced agreements, with the last one (Regeneron) in April.

At launch, TrumpRx had 43 drugs from 5 companies.

A Sparse Menu of Brand-Name Drugs

Nearly six months after launch, here is what we know:

• TrumpRx now has 92 deals on brand-name drugs.
• These come from 15 of the 17 companies that made deals.
• But those same companies make more than 800 brand-name drugs on the market today.
• So the TrumpRx deals are less than 12% of their total brand-name medicines.

Many important medicines are not on TrumpRx, including treatments for:

• Inflammatory conditions
• HIV
• Cancer

Important Point: Most of these companies are only discounting a small number of products, not doing it on a large scale. – Dr. Ben Rome, researcher and physician

Example: Pfizer

• Pfizer has 30 drugs on TrumpRx (the most of any company).
• But Pfizer sells at least 178 brand-name drugs.
• Some of Pfizer’s top money-making drugs are not discounted on TrumpRx, like:
  • Eliquis (blood thinner)
  • Ibrance (breast cancer)
  • Paxlovid (COVID treatment)
• Pfizer does offer Xeljanz (for arthritis) at $1,518, up to 53% off. But a generic version costs about $30 on Mark Cuban’s site.

Gilead and Regeneron made deals but have no drugs yet on TrumpRx. They say they will add one each later (Epclusa and Praluent), but no date is set.

Generic Alternatives Can Be Cheaper

In May, TrumpRx added lots of generic drugs (copycat cheaper versions) from partners like Cost Plus Drugs and Amazon Pharmacy.

The site now has two tabs:

• Presidential deals: brand-name drugs at the lowest prices on the site.
• Standard prices: generics and some brand-name drugs that cost more.

Some TrumpRx brand-name deals still have generic competition:

• Janumet: TrumpRx $84.57 vs generic $142.31 (TrumpRx wins here)
• Pristiq: TrumpRx $200.10 vs generic $20–$30 with coupon (generic wins here)

But some big drugs like Keytruda (cancer), Lynparza, and Lenvima are not discounted and not generic yet.

Important Point: Companies pick which products to discount—not all of them. This may help a few people paying cash but not everyone. – Rena Conti, health economist

Many people with insurance will pay less using their insurance copay than TrumpRx discounts.

When TrumpRx Can Help

TrumpRx can still be useful!

• It helps people whose insurance does not cover their medicine.
• Examples: fertility treatments and obesity medications (like GLP-1s).
• But this is not the majority of patients or drugs.

The website says it saved Americans over $400 million, but that number is old and hard to check. The White House didn’t say how many people used it.

Pharmacists say some patients ask for TrumpRx prices, mostly for GLP-1s, but it’s not extremely common.

GoodRx helps run the coupons at pharmacies, and they say early demand is strong for GLP-1 therapies.

Summary

TrumpRx is a government website launched in February with President Trump’s name on it to offer cheaper brand-name drugs. While 92 drugs from 15 companies are listed, that’s less than 12% of the 800+ brand-name drugs those companies sell. Many key medicines are missing, and some generics are cheaper elsewhere. It can help uninsured or uncovered patients, especially for GLP-1s, but most people with insurance may do better with their coverage.

FAQ

1. What is TrumpRx in simple terms?
It’s a U.S. government website where some brand-name prescription drugs are sold at discounted prices because of deals between drug companies and President Trump’s administration.

2. Why aren’t all drugs on TrumpRx?
Drug companies only agreed to discount a small selection of their products. They choose which ones to include, and many top medicines are left out.

3. Is TrumpRx always the cheapest option?
No. Some generic drugs on other sites (like Cost Plus Drugs) are cheaper than TrumpRx brand-name deals. Also, people with insurance may pay less using their copay.

4. Who benefits most from TrumpRx?
People whose insurance does not cover their medicine—such as those needing fertility or obesity treatments—can benefit the most.

5. How many companies made deals for TrumpRx?
All 17 companies that received letters from the administration announced agreements, but only 15 have drugs on the site so far.