President Trump targeted DTC pharma advertising in his latest memo.

President Trump is once again targeting the pharmaceutical industry.

His latest move involves direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising and practices that the President and his administration are misleading. The President published an official memo on Tuesday, September 9,¹ directing FDA to more strictly enforce existing regulations surrounding DTC advertisements. According to the memo, FDA requirements have allowed drug makers to include less information in these sorts of advertisements and that this has coincided with a significant increase in drug manufacturer advertising in recent decades.

How will President Trump's memo impact pharma advertising?

The memo continues to say that the administration will take action to ensure both transparency and accuracy in these advertisements moving forward. It states, “The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall therefore take appropriate action … including by increasing the amount of information regarding any risks associated with the use of any such prescription drug required to be provided in prescription drug advertisements, to the extent permitted by applicable law.The Commissioner of Food and Drugs shall take appropriate action to enforce the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act’s prescription drug advertising provisions, and otherwise ensure truthful and non-misleading information in direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertisements.”

The memo continues to state 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.”

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has previously spoken out against DTC pharma advertising. Following the President’s memo, FDA quickly published a news release² stating its intentions to swiftly follow through with the President’s declaration. One step that FDA says its plans to take is to close the adequate provision loophole, which it says has allowed drug makers to conceal significant safety risks.

In the news release, Kennedy says, “Pharmaceutical ads hooked this country on prescription drugs. We will shut down that pipeline of deception and require drug companies to disclose all critical safety facts in their advertising. Only radical transparency will break the cycle of overmedicalization that drives America’s chronic disease epidemic.”

In the same release, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, MD, MPH, added, “For far too long, the FDA has permitted misleading drug advertisements, distorting the doctor-patient relationship and creating increased demand for medications regardless of clinical appropriateness. Drug companies spend up to 25% of their budget on advertising. Those billions of dollars would be better spent on lowering drug prices for everyday Americans.”

In mid-August, reports surfaced that a draft of the MAHA Commission’s report to the Trump Administration about children’s health had leaked. The report included a section about the commission’s stance on DTC advertising, saying, “FDA, HHS, The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and DOJ will increase oversight and enforcement under current authorities for violations of DTC prescription drug advertising laws by prioritizing the most egregious violations including by social media influencers and DTC telehealth companies and demonstrating harm from current practices (including dissemination of risk information and quality of life through misleading and deceptive advertising on social media and digital platforms). The United States is one of two countries in the world which allow the pharmaceutical industry to market directly to consumers.”

According to a report from the New York Times,³ the President’s latest move could have serious financial consequences not just for pharma companies (which may lose revenue due to decreased advertising), but also for television networks. The report states that these networks draw significant revenue from selling airtime to pharma advertising campaigns. While broadcast television is not the powerhouse it once was, viewership among older age groups remains strong. Older demographics are a key audience for drug advertising, making television a key advertising platform.

Sources

1. Memorandum for the Secretary of Health and Human Services the Commissioner of Food and Drugs. The White House. September 9, 2025. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/09/memorandum-for-the-secretary-of-health-and-human-services-the-commissioner-of-food-and-drugs/
2. FDA Launches Crackdown on Deceptive Drug Advertising. FDA. September 9, 2025. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-launches-crackdown-deceptive-drug-advertising
3. Trump Moves to Crack Down on Drug Advertising. The New York Times. September 9, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/09/health/fda-drug-advertising-warning-letters.html?unlocked_article_code=1.k08.AHFP.M1MAfpBiLFDz&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare