With ongoing tariff and pricing turmoil, multiple pharmaceutical companies recently announced plans to offer direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales and discounted prices, along with responding to President Trump’s call for lowered drug prices and goal to cut “middlemen” such as pharmacies, insurers, and pharmacy benefit managers.A recent survey from ixlayer showed that 94% of pharma leaders were currently running, planning, or assessing DTC programs, with the survey highlighting DTC’s increasing popularity across the pharma industry.

President Trump’s Most-Favored-Nation Order

Back in May of this year, President Trump issued an Executive Order stating that pharmaceutical companies must treat the US as a most-favored-nation (MFN) regarding drug pricing, with domestic drug prices being either equal-to or less-than the lowest price of the drug in other countries. At the time, the President wrote that pharmaceutical companies claimed drug prices in the US were higher due to research and development costs. Shortly following the MFN order, President Trump then issued letters to several pharmaceutical companies, listing a timeline and goals for each company to achieve, including the following.

• Extend MFN pricing to Medicaid
• Guarantee MFN pricing for newly launched drugs
• Return increased revenues abroad to American patients and taxpayers
• Provide for direct purchasing at MFN pricing

President Trump’s official memo on DTC advertising

The MFN order marked the beginning of President Trump’s plans for the pharmaceutical industry, yet the president was far from finished. With the industry’s focus on DTC programs and marketing, earlier in September of this year, President Trump published an official memo directing FDA to more strictly enforce existing regulations surrounding DTC advertisements. The memo states the administration will take action ensuring transparency and accuracy in these advertisements moving forward, along with saying, that it does not “create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.”

President Trump’s Plan to Impose 100% tariff on imported branded/patented pharmaceuticals

On Truth Social, President Trump wrote (this quote has been edited for grammar and style from its original source),² “Starting October 1st, 2025, we will be imposing a 100% tariff on any branded or patented pharmaceutical product, unless a company is building their pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in America. “Is building” will be defined as breaking ground and/or under construction. There will, therefore, be no tariff on these pharmaceutical products if construction has started. Thank you for attention to this matter!”

The imposing enforcement of these tariffs have loomed since May of this year, and over the last few months companies such as AstraZeneca, AbbVie, Roche, Eli Lilly, and GSK have all taken action and announced plans for US-based production sites.

The announcement of TrumpRx

The most recent update in President Trump’s mission to lower drug costs in the US comes from the announcement of TrumpRX. According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, the plan is to launch a government-run website for consumers to buy drug medications directly from manufactures.3 The government will reportedly negotiate discounted rates from drug manufactures in order to lower costs for consumers compared to other options. The decision displays potential similarities to the MFN order, as it focus on domestic drug pricing.

What pharma companies have announced DTC sales and price adjustments?

• Pfizer announced its plan to participate in TrumpRX, offering its medications on the platform at a “significant discount.”
• AstraZeneca agrees to participate in TrumpRX, along with plans to invest $50 billion in US-based drug manufacturing and R&D.
• Amgen launched its new DTC program AmgenNow, offering Repatha for nearly 60% lower than US list price.
• AbbVie plans on launching Elahere in the UK and the same list price as in the US.
• Bristol Myers Squibb will cut prices upwards of 80% for Eliquis for eligible US patients
• Novo Nordisk plans to offer Ozempic for $499 per month for cash paying customers in the US through its own pharmacy.
• Roche is in talks with the US government and is considering plans to sell its medicines DTC in the US.

Sources

1. Pharma companies announce direct-to-consumer sales and price cuts in US Reuters October 13, 2025 https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/big-pharma-firms-announce-direct-to-consumer-sales-price-cuts-us-2025-10-13/
2. President Donald Trump Truth Social. Truth Social. September 25, 2025. https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115267512131958759
3. White House to Announce ‘TrumpRx’ Drug-Buying Website, and Deal With Pfizer. The Wall Street Journal. September 30, 2025. https://www.wsj.com/health/pharma/white-house-to-announce-trumprx-drug-buying-website-and-deal-with-pfizer-8c42e5cb?st=QnFopA