AstraZeneca enters discount medication agreement with Trump
A global pharmaceutical company has signed a deal with President Donald Trump that will substantially lower the price of some of its U.S. prescription medications.
AstraZeneca announced it has voluntarily agreed to a range of measures President Trump requested in a letter sent to the company in July 2025 which will provide U.S. consumers access medicines at prices that are equalized with those available in wealthy countries.
As part of the agreement, AstraZeneca will provide drect-to-consumer (DTC) sales to eligible patients with prescriptions for chronic diseases at a discount of up to 80% off list prices.
AstraZeneca will also participate in a direct purchasing platform, TrumpRx.gov, scheduled to launch in early 2026 that will allow American patients to purchase medicines from the company at a significant discount.
AstraZeneca has also reached an agreement with the US Department of Commerce to delay Section 232 tariffs for three years, enabling the Company to fully onshore medicines manufacturing so that all of its medicines sold in America are made in America
Global drugmaker Pfizer also recently agreed to participate in TrupRx.gov as part of a recently signed broader agreement with the government that will provide every state Medicaid program in the country access to “most favored nation” drug prices on Pfizer products, meaning U.S. consumers will pay the lowest price offered in other developed countries.
[READ MORE: Pfizer to lower some U.S. drug prices; 'TrumpRx' platform to come]
AstraZeneca has also reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce to delay tariffs on its pharmaceutical imports of branded, patented drugs for three years, enabling the company to fully onshore medicines manufacturing so that all of its medicines sold in America are made in America, as part of a $50 billion investment in domestic manufacturing and research and development during the next five years.
Separately and without any direct government cooperation, the company also recently launched AstraZeneca Direct, an online direct-to-consumer platform designed to create a way for eligible patients to gain access to their prescribed medications at a transparent, discounted cash price with home delivery.
“Every year AstraZeneca treats millions of Americans living with cancer and chronic diseases and, as a result of today’s agreement, many patients will access life-changing medicines at lower prices,” said Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca. “This new approach also helps safeguard America’s pioneering role as a global powerhouse in innovation and developing the next generation of medicines. It is now essential other wealthy countries step up their contribution to fund innovation.”
Digital discount prescriptions are a growing market
AstraZeneca is tossing its prescription bottle cap into an increasingly crowded vertical of digital retailers and platforms offering consumers online access to low-cost prescription drugs, with the added feature of being a direct-to-consumer provider.
For example, online giant Amazon offers RxPass, a $5 monthly discount prescription service for U.S. Prime members from Amazon Pharmacy initially launched in 2023, in 48 U.S. states.
And same-day pharmacy delivery from Walmart, which was initially launched to provide delivery of prescription medications in as little as 30 minutes in October 2024 and offered nationwide in January 2025, now includes refrigerated and reconstituted medications — such as insulin, GLP-1s and pediatric amoxicillin — and is available across the U.S.
Walmart also recently opened a 102,000-sq.-ft. facility in Frederick, Md. designed to fulfill up to 100,000 prescriptions a day, supporting more than 700 stores across 16 states and Washington, D.C.
Other low-cost competitors in the prescription drug marketplace include GoodRx, which began directly selling and fulfilling orders for eligible prescription and over-the-counter medications online in October 2024 and also partners with drugstore retailers including Walgreens and the pharmacy operation of Hy-Vee.
In addition, billionaire entrepreneur and "Shark Tank" star Mark Cuban launched Cost Plus Drugs in 2022 as a registered pharmaceutical wholesaler, which allows it to bypass middlemen and their associated markups. Cost Plus Drugs partners with retailers including Ahold Delhaize USA.
