Prescription drug prices along with other healthcare costs like hospital services and nursing homes, are growing faster than overall inflation, but slower than consumer costs like housing, food, and coffee, per GoodRx Research’s latest data. Pharma marketers need to use empathy to connect with the growing group of underinsured consumers. They should be transparent about prices and acknowledge the frustration consumers feel around the complexity of the US healthcare and insurance system. Proactively highlight help offered for consumers like financial assistance, savings tools, and patient support programs.
Amgen debuted a new direct-to-consumer (D2C) prescription drug platform and cash-pay discounts beginning with heart disease med Repatha. It joins more than half a dozen pharma company D2C launches under pressure from the Trump administration to lower prices through direct sales. Drugmakers need to ensure physicians understand the new D2C platform value beyond price, such as easier access and better adherence for their patients. On the consumer side, messaging should emphasize the value and convenience of online ordering, 24/7 online customer service, and free shipping to home, especially for recurring prescriptions.
Novo Nordisk is partnering with Costco to offer the retailer’s members Ozempic and Wegovy for $499 per month, or about half off what the medications cost patients without insurance. Novo tapping into Costco’s customer base of over 100 million US cardholders is a savvy play, especially considering that Costco members skew toward higher-income compared with shoppers generally. Novo and Costco can specifically market to new mothers and families broadly who may be struggling with weight gain due to their busy lives.
A generic version of the abortion pill mifepristone was quietly approved by the FDA before the federal government shutdown. Pharmacies need to provide clear, state-specific guidance so consumers don’t have to guess about access in their area. They can create discreet information channels that ensure consumers’ confidentiality while seeking information, such as secure online consultations with pharmacists or privacy-secure QR code links.
GoodRx is partnering with Kroger pharmacies to roll out a medication savings program for branded drugs, including Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy. Kroger has a great opportunity to market healthy food offerings through its grocery business to people picking up GLP-1 prescriptions at its pharmacy. This might involve pharmacist-led medication management, tailored marketing for store products that support GLP-1 use (e.g., high-protein, low-calorie, fiber-rich), and access to nutrition guidance and resources.
Pharma marketers are increasingly investing in point-of-care (POC) marketing. Pharma marketers should be able to effectively integrate traditional media advertising with POC content. For example, marketers could use similar wording, data, and testimonials in a TV/online campaign as they do in a POC ad to improve audience retention. Similarly, a TV commercial may spark initial awareness of a prescription drug, while POC ads reinforce it with QR codes or digital resources that patients can explore in the waiting room, or cost-saving information provided at the pharmacy counter.
More than three-fourths (78%) of US adults support extending federal funding tax credits for ACA insurance, according to a new KFF survey. That includes 57% of Republicans who support President Donald Trump. The tax credits are a key part of the current Senate stopgap funding negotiations. If subsidies are not extended, insurers need to prepare customer-friendly strategies to retain price-conscious enrollees, such as flexible plan options or help switching plans. They should also offer new digital health perks (or highlight existing ones) like mental health support and health-related discounts.
The Trump administration is putting off plans to impose a 100% tariff on drug imports as it continues negotiations with pharma companies to lower prices on their brand-name products. Earlier this week, Pfizer became the first to strike a deal with the administration that will cut many of its drug prices by 40% or more, and in return, receive a three-year delay on tariffs. Other drugmakers can win from a PR perspective and gain political favor by striking similar agreements that avoid the worst-case scenario of heavy tariffs, drawn-out legal battles, or regulatory cost controls on all of their pharma products.
AI chatbots most often use health media sources like Mayo Clinic and Healthline in answering consumer health-related questions, according to an Outcomes Rocket study. There’s an opportunity for marketers to grow chatbot attention with quality content. Create credible and user-friendly content and avoid overly complex or jargony material to appeal to the way chatbots are constructing answers. Cater to the preference for recent data and summarized content by updating content frequently and offering condensed takes at the top of posts.
The number of patient appointments for weight loss drugs jumps whenever a celebrity reveals they use a GLP-1, according to Zocdoc data shared with EMARKETER. Brands that advertise access to weight loss drugs will want to develop messaging for when appointments surge. They should highlight that GLP-1s were developed to treat medical conditions (not for quick weight loss), and that companies are committed to making products available for all communities. Pharma and telehealth weight loss drug players should also provide transparent data on how many people experience which side effects when taking a GLP-1, while working with social media platforms to flag misleading content about medication efficacy and safety.
Walmart will remove artificial dyes and 30 other food additives from its private-label products by the beginning of 2027. Its changes follow similar pledges by other manufacturers including Kraft and General Mills. Walmart shoppers prioritize price above all’ top priority is price, but that doesn’t mean they’re not concerned about health and wellness—they just may not be able to afford premium-priced health foods.. Walmart’s decision to remove certain food additives from its private-label changes is an opportunity to bridge that gap and deliver healthier food at budget-friendly prices.
The majority (70%) of US adults do not trust health information coming from President Donald Trump, according to June 2025 data from Ipsos and Axios.
Telehealth company LifeMD is partnering with Novo Nordisk to offer diabetes patients Ozempic for $499 per month. GLP-1 price wars are taking place between drugmakers and online healthcare companies still selling compounded weight loss medications. Novo’s and Lilly’s branded drugs have the stamp of FDA approval in their favor, but many cost-conscious consumers paying out of pocket will still opt for the cheaper compounded GLP-1s (~$200 per month) through telehealth platforms like Hims & Hers.
The Trump administration is rolling out its own direct-to-consumer (D2C) prescription drug website called TrumpRx.com for Americans to purchase some prescriptions at lower negotiated rates. It’s also inked a specific deal with Pfizer to cut many of its drug prices by 40% or more, and in turn, receive a three-year delay on tariffs. Pharma companies are technically meeting Trump demands with D2C announcements, but the initial moves may not be enough to satisfy policymakers or consumers.
The COVID-19 flexibilities that provided doctor reimbursement for virtual care expired on September 30. Healthcare providers and their marketers who deliver telehealth to Medicare members must keep their patients up to speed with how their care might be affected due to Congressional inaction. They should contact seniors by phone or text to confirm medication refill needs and be available for any additional questions. Practices could turn to social media platforms like Facebook for more general messaging, such as resources that connect seniors with low-cost transportation services or mobility assistance programs that may help folks get to a doctor’s office.
The FDA’s recent crackdown on pharma TV advertising could disproportionately affect Black, Hispanic, and Asian consumers, per a recent Video Advertising Bureau (VAB) report. President Trump recently directed federal health agencies to increase pharma TV advertising enforcement and to change rules to make drugmakers disclose every side effect. Pharma marketers would have to change the ads, spend extensive time and money to change them, or pull them off the air. Marketers and agencies need to think about shifting budgets to digital channels, especially social media and influencer marketing, which are also valuable information health sources for Black, Hispanic and Asian consumers.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how “The Savings Wrangler” campaign was dreamt up, how GoodRx will measure its success, and what new spaces the medication savings company is moving into. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host, Marcus Johnson, Senior Analysts, Rajiv Leventhal and Beth Snyder Bulik, and Chief Marketing Officer at GoodRx, Ryan Sullivan. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
President Trump threatened pharma companies with a 100% tariff on drug imports unless they start building US manufacturing plants by October 1. The winners of Trump’s latest threat/demand are generic drugmakers that appear to be spared, and highly profitable Big Pharmas that were likely planning investments in US manufacturing and R&D anyway to stabilize supply chains. But smaller pharma players may be forced to pull back from US commerce in favor of international markets, explore a sale, or cut a strategic partnership with bigger drugmakers in which their treatments could be produced at the larger company’s US facilities.
Paid search clickthrough rates for healthcare ads plummeted 51.4% year over year—the steepest drop across all industries measured, according to our Industry KPI data provided by Skai. The rise of AI-generated health info and consumer burnout from constant drug ads are likely driving down engagement. Healthcare and pharma companies need to ensure their online content is tailored for AI relevance. They must also continuously review whether their ads are being over-exposed to the same audience.
The pharma industry moved up from last place in Gallup’s annual survey of US industry reputation, although 58% of consumers still view the industry negatively. Healthcare fared better landing in the middle of the list, but still notched a 51% negative rating. Consumers are still angry about high pharma drug prices, but they’re increasingly aware that insurers, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), and hospital systems are part of the problem. There’s an opportunity for pharma to continue to spotlight how PBMs drive up drug prices, for instance. But companies should also amplify more recent efforts, like creating US jobs by building more manufacturing plants in the US and making some medications more accessible in direct-to-consumer programs, to win back public goodwill.