Donald Trump has launched a discounted drug site, listing deals for weight loss drugs including Ozempic and Wegovy.
TrumpRx launched Thursday (February 5) and while it's not an online pharmacy in itself, it signposts people to drugmakers’ own direct-to-consumer sites, or gives them coupons to use at pharmacies.
Almost 12 percent of Americans have used GLP-1 drugs, according to RAND, with injectables including Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and WeGovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound.
Nordisk's WeGovy pill, which has recently been approved, is also listed on TrumpRx.
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GLP-1s work by mimicking the glucagon-like peptide 1 hormone that helps people regulate their blood sugar and appetite, making people feel fuller for longer and therefore lose weight.
Ozempic was only FDA-approved to control diabetes, but the likes of WeGovy, Zepbound and Mounjaro were signed off for weight loss purposes.
So, how does TrumpRx work - and is it really cutting users a savvy deal, or not?
How TrumpRx works
TrumpRx promises the 'world's lowest prices on prescription drugs,' but whether that's actually the case it to be seen.
Patients visit TrumpRx.gov, browse the list of more than 40 drugs - which also include fertility drugs - and select the one they'd like.
This then redirects them to the manufacturer’s direct-to-consumer platform, where they pay cash, submit a prescription and buy directly.
So, insurance is not used and purchases don’t count toward deductibles or out-of-pocket limits.
Drugmakers like Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and EMD Serono struck pricing deals with Trump last year, in exchange for tariff relief and sped-up FDA reviews for new drugs.
“The launch of TrumpRx will further extend patients’ reach to Ozempic and Wegovy, including the newly approved Wegovy pill,” Novo said in a statement, via the Financial Times.
However, as CNBC reports, it's not quite clear how much those with medical insurance will be saving buying via TrumpRx - if at all.
It's a potentially positive move for those without insurance, however.
What are the price differences?
As CNBC explained, patients are really only making a saving depending on their insurance plans.
Under its deal with the Trump administration, for example, Nordisk's Ozempic for diabetes via TrumpRx is priced at $350 a month - a hefty saving compared to its usual $1,000.
However, this is higher than what private insurers and government programs pay after rebates and discounts, Georgetown's Medicare Policy Initiative claims.
As CNBC reports, Wegovy injection for obesity start from around $199 per month via TrumpRx, down from around $1,350.
The daily Wegovy pill is listed at $149 per month for the starting doses, while the monthly Zepbound injection is $299, down from $1,086.
Speaking to CNBC, Juliette Cubanski, deputy director of the program on Medicare Policy at KFF, said that the private sector has 'got insurers and pharmacy benefit managers negotiating lower prices and designing an insurance benefit that enables people to benefit from those price negotiations.'
“My guess is that for most drugs, at least most brand-name medications, people are likely to get a better deal using their insurance rather than purchasing a drug through a direct-to-consumer website,” she added.
However it seems big pharma bosses are all for making their drugs more accessible via TrumpRx.
Topics: Health, US News, Donald Trump, Ozempic, Weight loss
Ellie Kemp