Category World News

TrumpRx, the new website that will let American citizens purchase prescription drugs from reputable pharmaceutical companies at reduced prices, was made public earlier this week by US President Donald Trump.

Pfizer, the first United States pharmaceutical group to sign up to the website, said it would offer discounts of up to 85 percent on the cost of its medicines for those not using health insurance policies to pay and for those on the government’s low-cost insurance programme, Medicaid. Additionally, Pfizer will lower the cost of its medications for the Medicaid program.

The announcement prompted shares in the pharmaceuticals sector to lift sharply this week, signalling a favourable response from markets and the pharmaceuticals industry.

What are the key details about the new service, how it will operate, and why it is being launched.

What is TrumpRx and when is it being launched?

In the first quarter of 2026, the new website will be launched. It is a platform from which consumers will be able to buy prescription medicines directly from pharmaceutical companies without going through insurance.

Customers will be directed to the drug’s manufacturer after searching for the prescription drug on the website.

They will have access to discounted prices much closer to those typically paid by national health services in foreign countries at what are known as “most favoured nation” prices.

The website will also be accessible to beneficiaries of Medicaid, the federal government’s insurance program for people with lower-income families.

“By taking this bold step, we’re ending the era of global price gouging at the expense of American families”, Trump told a news conference on Tuesday.

What are ‘ most favoured nation ‘ prices?

National health services in other countries, such as Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Denmark, pay US pharmaceutical companies for prescription drugs.

As these countries buy medicines in bulk, they have much greater purchasing power to demand lower prices than ordinary consumers. This results in pharmaceutical companies selling their products internationally at much lower prices than they do domestically.

The US cannot leverage this sort of purchasing power because it does not have a national health service, so the government cannot influence the price of drugs in the same way.

According to the Trump administration, this means that American pharmaceutical companies are artificially inflating prices while subscribing foreign health services. In May this year, therefore, he signed an executive order aimed at reducing prescription drug prices in the US, stating: “The United States will no longer subsidise the health care of foreign countries”.

Prices continue to fluctuate between countries when a country grants MFN status and commits to providing the recipient country with the same trade advantages it gives any other country with MFN status, but not always at the same low prices. However, it is understood that companies will be expected to offer drugs at their lowest selling price in any other country.

What other actions has Trump taken to reduce the cost of prescription drugs in the US?

The launch of the new website is just one part of Trump’s strategy to reduce prescription medicine prices in the US.

He instructed the CEOs of 17 pharmaceutical companies to lower their prices in a letter sent in July of this year.

In the letter, he laid out demands and promises:

• He demanded that all Medicaid patients receive MFN prices from manufacturers.
• He required manufacturers to stipulate that they will not offer other developed nations better prices for new drugs than prices offered in the United States.
• He promised to give manufacturers the ability to bypass middlemen and sell medicines to patients for prices that are competitive with those in developed nations.
• He promised to use trade policy to support manufacturers in raising prices internationally, provided that increased revenues abroad are reinvested directly into lowering prices for American patients and taxpayers.

The first of these promises is fulfilled by the new TrumpRx website.

To address the second promise, Trump has also announced new 100 percent tariffs on imported, branded pharmaceutical products. Companies that establish production facilities and operations in the US will not be subject to these conditions.

He cited the cost of prescription drugs as one of the reasons for levying these tariffs.

How much more expensive are prescriptions in the US than elsewhere?

According to a 2022 study commissioned by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, published on the US government website, standard insulin prices in the US are as much as 10 times higher than prices in 33 OECD countries.

The study found that average gross US prices were nearly nine times as high as those in France and the United Kingdom, nearly nine times as high as those in Italy, more than eight times as high as those in Japan, about seven times as high as German, and more than six times as high as those in Canada.

Many people who take insulin already pay a “net price”, which is lower than the standard price via rebates that the manufacturer agrees with insurance companies. However, according to the report, the net price is still typically 2.33 times what it was paid for other nations.

Who will benefit most from this platform?

Anyone who wants to use the platform to purchase prescription medications directly from pharmaceutical companies at a discount instead of purchasing them through insurance coverage.

A 2024 report from the US Census Bureau showed that about 8 percent of the US population (26 million people) did not have health insurance in 2023 – so these people may be able to benefit.

Lower prices are likely to benefit the Medicaid program because of its agreement with Pfizer’s more favorable terms. However, details of how this part of the deal will work have not been fully explained.

According to experts, the majority of Americans will not use the website because most of them currently use insurance to provide medical care.

Stacie B Dusetzina, professor of health policy at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, told Al Jazeera: “There are a small number of people who may be better off purchasing their medicine this way, but the majority of Americans won’t benefit from this type of model”.

However, she continued, “We can’t say for certain that the deal will save the public Medicaid program money without knowing more about how that deal is structured.”

Which drug companies will sell via the new website?

Trump claimed on Tuesday that Pfizer Pharma Group would be the first company to sign and promote the new website.

In return for direct access to consumers, the US pharmaceuticals major has agreed to lower the cost of its prescription drugs for those buying direct via the site (and not using insurance to pay), as well as those on the Medicaid programme. According to Trump, customers will pay prices that are closer to those in the “most favoured nation”.

In a news release, Pfizer said it had “voluntarily agreed to implement measures designed to ensure Americans receive comparable drug prices to those available in other developed countries” and said it will also price “newly launched medicines at parity with other key developed markets”.

The majority of the Company’s primary care treatments and some limited specialty brands will be discounted, the company said in a statement. The company said that this will be true for prices as high as 85 percent and, on average, 50 percent.

The White House and Pfizer gave some examples of primary-care Pfizer medicines which will be available on the TrumpRx website. This list is not exhaustive:

• Eucrisa, a topical ointment for atopic dermatitis, which will be made available at an 80 percent discount for patients purchasing directly.
• A 40% discount will be offered on Xeljanz, a popular oral arthritis medication.
• Zavzpret, a drug used to treat migraines, which will be sold at a 50 percent discount.
• Duavee, an alternative to menopause symptoms, will be available for about 85% off.
• Toviaz, a drug for for overactive bladder.
• Both autoimmune medications, Xeljanz and Abrilada, will be offered at significant discounts.

Some of these drugs will remain very expensive even with the discounts. For instance, Xeljanz, according to Pfizer’s website, costs roughly $6, 000 per month at the most basic price. A 40 percent discount brings this down to $3, 600 per month.

Americans who have health insurance currently can purchase the medication for up to $20 per month, which is frequently the lowest price paid by the terms of their insurance policy.

What else have Pfizer and Trump agreed to under this deal?

According to the company, Pfizer has agreed to lower drug prices generally in the US, keeping them level with those in other developed nations.

The group has also committed to spending $70bn on domestic manufacturing facilities, which will be dedicated to “US research, development and capital projects in the next few years”.

Trump’s tariffs on branded pharmaceuticals made abroad will be followed by the company for a three-year grace period.

“I think today we are turning the tide, and we are reversing an unfair situation”, Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla said at a news conference on Tuesday alongside Trump, referring to the difference in prices that people in the US pay for medicines compared with consumers overseas.

Will other drug manufacturers follow suit?

Trump said on Tuesday that other pharmaceutical companies are expected to sign up for the new website, but there have been no new official announcements so far.

According to Dusetzina, “It is obvious that the deal that Pfizer struck is a kind one for the industry.” “The companies that received letters requesting that they act are all likely to make agreements that I would expect to be similarly structured.

These businesses will want commitments so they can avoid any potential tariffs, if nothing else. That is worth a lot to them and to their shareholders. I believe it will still be difficult to tell whether the changes made have any measurable advantages for the typical American.

Overseas pharmaceutical companies may be able to sign up as well.

Swiss businesses, including Roche and Novartis, expressed interest in collaborating with the Trump administration to increase the cost of their medications for Americans.

Stephan Mumenthaler, director general of scienceindustries – which represents about 250 Swiss chemical and pharmaceutical companies – told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday that he expected” mini deals “to come from Swiss and global pharmaceutical companies in the coming days.

They are considering using similar schemes, he said, “How can you omit the margins that middlemen are taking away so that you basically have the same price as before, but the end user still receives a lower price?”

Meanwhile, on Monday, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) announced the launch of its own website AmericasMedicines.com, which will enable consumers to directly buy drugs from manufacturers as well.

We need policymakers to protect innovation, fix the dysfunctional insurance system that burdens patients with high out-of-pocket expenses, and ensure foreign governments pay their fair share, according to Stephen J. Ubl, president and CEO of PhRMA, in a press release.

How have markets reacted?

On Tuesday, Pfizer’s share price increased 7% in the US and 8% more than that on the UK stock exchange.

As the region marked the fourth day of a complete shutdown on Thursday, with at least 15 people dead, including three police officers, in violent clashes between protesters and security forces, an unsettling calm hangs over Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Dozens more have been injured on both sides as the standoff continues.

The federal government has dispatched a negotiating committee that arrived on Thursday in Muzaffarabad, the territory’s capital, to hold crucial talks with the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), an umbrella organisation representing traders and civil society groups that has emerged as the voice of grassroots discontent across the region.

The JAAC-organized lockdown, which was led by activist Shaukat Nawaz Mir, slowed the progress of several districts of Pakistan-administered Kashmir’s (AJK) region.

Residents have been disconnected from mobile telecommunications and internet access since September 28 due to the government’s meanwhile imposed a complete&nbsp communications blackout.

In Muzaffarabad, the usually bustling markets have remained shuttered, while street vendors and public transport have vanished from the roads. The region’s roughly four million residents are uncertain because of the paralysis.

Authorities said in a statement that they were working to restore order, and that they were urging the public to refrain from being influenced by what officials described as “fake news” and propaganda being made available on social media as part of a “special agenda”

This JAAC-led protest – the third such major mobilisation in the past two years – erupted after the government failed to agree to the committee’s 38-point demands, according to the group’s leaders.

The local government of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and a grassroots movement that has repeatedly demonstrated its street power have engaged in an ongoing conflict for two years.

What caused the protests to begin?

The Kashmir valley is the picturesque yet deeply contentious Himalayan region over which Pakistan and India have fought multiple wars since both nations gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947. Both have control over the region, and China also has two slivers of the north. India claims all of Kashmir, with the exception of parts held by China, its allies, while Pakistan claims all of Kashmir.

With a population exceeding four million, according to the 2017 census, Pakistan-administered Kashmir operates under a semi-autonomous system with its own prime minister and legislative assembly.

The current unrest began in May 2023 when people first took to the streets to protest what they perceived as rising electricity bills. In addition, complaints about widespread flour smuggling and acute shortages of subordinated wheat supplies also surfaced.

By August 2023, these disparate grievances had coalesced into organised resistance. In Muzaffarabad, hundreds of activists gathered in September that year to formally form the JAAC, bringing together representatives from all regional districts.

In May 2024, protesters marched long distance towards Muzaffarabad, which was the movement’s first significant turning point. Violent clashes ensued, resulting in the deaths of at least five people, including a police officer.

The government awarded billions of rupees in subsidies to help lower electricity prices and lower flour prices, but only after Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif agreed to significant demands.

However, the peace was temporary. In August of this year, the JAAC announced it would launch another lockdown, this time broadening its critique beyond economic grievances.

What are the demands of protesters, and why are they unhappy?

The latest charter of demands presented by the JAAC consists of 38 distinct points. The demands range from changing the provincial legislature’s structure to launching major infrastructure projects, providing free education and healthcare, and introducing major infrastructure projects.

However, the abolition of what the JAAC refers to as “ruling elite privileges,” a demand that has also been prominent in other grievances, is at the top of the list.

The JAAC maintains that following the May 2024 protests, the government acknowledged that a judicial commission would be formed to review “privileges granted to high government officials”.

Two government-provided vehicles, personal staff, including bodyguards, as well as unlimited fuel for vehicles they use for government work are some of the benefits offered to senior government officials, such as ministers.

The elimination of the system of 12 reserved seats for refugees in the autonomous region’s legislative assembly is a second important demand that was first included on the JAAC’s list.

According to the JAAC, refugees and their descendants, who migrated from Indian-administered Kashmir after the 1947 partition, now constitute a powerful political bloc that has monopolised development funds.

Additionally, the charter calls for the end of all legal action brought against activists during the 2023 and 2024 protests.

Additionally, among other things, there are demands for tax exemptions and better employment opportunities.

Infrastructure development features prominently in the JAAC’s vision. Apart from an international airport, the committee has demanded new projects, including tunnels and bridges connecting the mountainous region to the rest of Pakistan.

An airport in Muzaffarabad has been operating for years and is still operational. However, in April of this year, Prime Minister Sharif formed a committee to work on reviving the project. Additionally, he gave orders to look into the viability of adding a second airport to Mirpur, the second-largest city in the area.

What is the government’s response?

The local administration has implemented a communications blackout and has ordered educational institutions shut indefinitely.

More contentious, it has demanded additional police forces from Pakistan’s rest of the country as well as paramilitary forces.

The deployment of paramilitary forces has been opposed by the JAAC. Mir, the JAAC leader, told reporters earlier this week that with local police already present, “there was no need to order paramilitary from mainland Pakistan”.

While there had already been a first round of negotiations, a new committee had just arrived in Muzaffarabad tasked with addressing the protesters’ grievances, according to Abdul Majid Khan, the finance minister of Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

We agreed on those when they started their protest last year, which was initially all about electricity and the cost of flour. But they also must understand that things cannot happen overnight, and they take time”, Khan said, defending the government.

Khan acknowledged, however, that negotiations have broken down due to the government’s agreement to most of the JAAC’s 38 points, including the elimination of the 12 reserved seats for refugees and the elimination of “ruling elite perks.”

The minister challenged the logic behind eliminating seats reserved for refugees, pointing to what they lost at the time of the subcontinent’s partition.

These people, who had left their wealth behind and immigrated from India to Pakistan, are now living in excruciating poverty, but JAAC believes it unfair to grant them a seat quota. Why did these people even go to the trouble of moving here if we don’t grant them the rights? Khan argued.

The minister is one of the estimated 2.7 million people in the area who immigrated from Kashmir that is administered by India.

Given that the JAAC’s earlier demands had been met, Khan also questioned the justification for new protests. He said that for many of the current issues, local authorities must seek funding from the federal government in Islamabad.

With already lower electricity tariffs, the population here barely pays any taxes. Additionally, he noted that the region has less than 5, 000 tax filers, which indicates that the government isn’t making much money.

What happens next?

The next round of negotiations is scheduled for Friday, with the government representatives and JAAC members holding talks after they were resolved on Thursday.

Both parties publicly declare their intention to engage in dialogue, but distrust is persisted on by repeated shuffles of promises and disappointments.

Despite the JAAC’s persistent protests, the government maintains it has met most demands and that constitutional and electoral reforms require legislative processes that cannot happen overnight.

Khan stated that the government would act quickly to restore internet and mobile services, which he said “had been curtailed due to the situation on the ground,” once significant progress was made in the negotiations.

One yacht continues to sail toward the Palestinian enclave despite the Israeli military’s extensive destruction of a humanitarian flotilla trying to break its siege on Gaza.

The last vessel left in service of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was once a 44-strong fleet, was the Polish-flagged Marinette, which is reportedly home to a crew of six.

The Australian captain, who only identified himself as Cameron, explained that the boat had engine problems at the start of the video call with the flotilla organizers late on Thursday and was thus lagging behind the main group. Cameron continued, adding that the ship is currently “steaming” toward Gaza.

He said, “We have a bunch of very tough Turks on board; we have a woman from Oman and myself on board,” and we will just keep going in that direction.

The yacht’s crew is steered by the sun as it rises behind them in Mediterranean Sea international waters, as captured in a live video feed from the yacht’s 04:00 GMT live stream.

The ship is 43 nautical miles (approximately 80 kilometers) from Gaza’s territorial waters, according to a live geo tracker.

The Marinette was previously informed by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs that “its attempt to enter and breach the blockade will also be avoided.”

42 boats were intercepted without permission.

Their passengers were unlawfully taken.

The world witnessed what occurs when a siege is challenged by civilians.

Marinette continues to sail.

She is aware of the fate of her water sisters.

She is aware of what lies ahead. And sh… https://t.co/XAtq1RHLyK

About 500 activists from more than 40 nations have been detained and dozens of boats carrying humanitarian supplies to Gaza have been stopped by Israel’s naval forces since Wednesday.

Israel had previously accused the volunteers of trying to “breach a lawful naval blockade,” which violated international law, and promised to take whatever steps to stop them.

Before transferring each boat to Israel, where the crew will be deported, the Israeli navy intercepted each and held them captive. Among those detained are prominent figures like activist Greta Thunberg, former mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau, and Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan.

The flotilla has attracted international attention as the navy’s largest naval aid mission to date in an effort to deliver supplies to the Palestinian enclave, and protests have erupted all over the world following its seizure.

International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), which represents more than 16.5 million transport workers worldwide, stated in an interview that “attacking or seizing nonviolent, humanitarian vessels in international waters” is against international law.

“States are unable to pick and choose when to uphold international law.” He argued that the seas must not be used as a staging area for war.

In response to Israel’s actions, Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced that his country would expelling Israeli diplomats and cancelling Colombia’s free trade agreement.

Germany, France, Spain, Greece, and Ireland are just a few examples of European countries calling on Israel to respect the rights of the crew members it has seized.

Israel’s actions are not yet being commented upon by the UN, but Francesca Albanese, the UN’s special rapporteur for Palestine, has called the interceptions “illegal abductions.”