The Trump administration's direct-to-consumer prescription drug platform, TrumpRx, is set to launch at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday (February 5). The new website, trumprx.gov, represents a key component of President Donald Trump's effort to lower prescription drug costs for Americans.

TrumpRx will function as a clearinghouse connecting patients with pharmaceutical manufacturers selling certain medications directly to consumers willing to pay cash and forgo insurance. The platform will offer discounted prices on various drugs, including blockbuster obesity medications Zepbound and Wegovy.

At least 16 drug manufacturers have negotiated agreements with the administration to participate in the portal. Some offerings listed in the announcements include Eli Lilly's Zepbound and Novo Nordisk's Wegovy for as little as $149 monthly, Amgen's cholesterol-lowering drug Rephatha for $239 monthly, and Merck's diabetes medication Januvia for $100.

President Trump has touted the drug pricing initiative as a major step toward easing Americans' health care affordability concerns. The president has grown increasingly enthusiastic about the portal, viewing it as crucial to addressing cost-of-living issues that have affected his approval ratings ahead of November's midterm elections.

President Trump has pushed to expand direct-to-consumer sales as a way to reduce costs by eliminating intermediaries like pharmacy benefit managers from the drug supply chain.

The platform's effectiveness will depend heavily on individual circumstances, including the specific medication, its cash-pay price, and the patient's insurance coverage. Typically, consumers' co-pays or co-insurance will be lower than the cash-pay prices, at least once they satisfy their deductibles.

One important consideration is whether insurers will count cash payments to drugmakers toward insurance deductibles. Express Scripts, a major pharmacy benefit manager owned by Cigna, reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday over accusations of artificially inflating insulin prices. As part of the agreement, Express Scripts will count payments its members make through TrumpRx towards their deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums, provided certain legislative or regulatory changes are made.

The launch comes as President Trump continues pursuing broader drug pricing initiatives, including his "Most Favored Nation" effort requiring drug makers to provide medicine to Medicaid and launch drugs in the United States at the lowest price available in peer countries.

The direct-to-consumer drug concept did not originate with the Trump administration. Entrepreneur Mark Cuban launched Cost Plus Drug Company in 2022 to sell generic medications directly to consumers. Eli Lilly started LillyDirect in early 2024, while Novo Nordisk unveiled NovoCare about a year later.

The direct-to-consumer channel has proven popular for obesity medications, largely because many insurance plans do not cover these drugs. Novo Nordisk reported that prescriptions via its self-pay channel account for approximately 30 percent of total prescriptions for Wegovy. Eli Lilly noted that over one million patients engaged with LillyDirect in 2025.