The trend: The first year of US President Donald Trump’s second term has been marked by disruption and uncertainty across most sectors. For healthcare and pharma, ad crackdowns, drug price cuts, and vaccine headwinds made 2025 a pressure cooker for pharma—but the heat is expected to subside in 2026.
Editor’s note: Click here to read the full report, “President Trump’s Second Term: How the administration has shifted retail, media advertising, tech, health, and finserv.”
3 pharma regulatory pressure points that will ease—but not disappear—in 2026:
1. Pharma ad oversight will tighten, but policy-driven disruption is unlikely. Trump’s order in September tasked the FDA to reverse a 1997 policy that lets pharma marketers list only some risks in their ads.
At the time, the directive signaled a warning to drugmakers and ad agencies, but enforcement has so far stopped at warning letters that mostly targeted “misleading” TV ads. Without regulatory follow-through—and given legal hurdles to undoing pre-1997 rules—pharma advertisers have little reason to expect major changes.
What it means for pharma marketers in 2026: Any rule requiring full-risk disclosures in ads would also face legal challenges—another factor working in pharma’s favor. Still, marketers will need to stay flexible and lean further into online media that can better accommodate longer disclosures.
2. Drugmakers brace for drug price cuts but avoid tariffs on US imports. Of the 17 drugmakers Trump pressed in August to lower US drug prices, 16 have agreed to cut cash-pay prices on select drugs in exchange for tariff exemptions and other incentives. The terms aren’t especially punitive for pharma. For instance, Price cuts largely target the smaller self-pay market, limiting the revenue impact, and in some cases come with upside, such as expanded Medicare coverage or faster regulatory reviews.
What it means for pharma companies in 2026: Trump has seemingly already declared victory on drug pricing, signaling that pressure on pharma is likely to ease as attention shifts elsewhere. Large drugmakers have avoided the most disruptive consequences that tariffs would have caused, but they’ll still push other developed countries to raise prices to offset some US-related losses, even if the effect is modest.
3. Vaccine skepticism will persist, without steep drop-off rates for most established shots. The CDC has scaled back recommendations for several childhood vaccines and COVID-19. This shifted some shots—including RSV, meningococcal, and hepatitis A and B—from universal use to high-risk groups or shared decision-making. While CDC guidance isn’t mandatory, it shapes physician and state decisions. However, medical associations are pushing back on the CDC’s recommendations, while insurers say they’ll continue covering routine shots.
What it means for vaccine makers in 2026: Pharma is likely to respond with pro-vaccine messaging, but that effort may struggle without help—68% of US parents distrust drugmakers on vaccine information, per an October 2025 Washington Post-KFF survey. Vaccine makers must turn to local health systems, medical clinics, and pharmacies to communicate clearly with consumers and parents—explaining how shifting public health guidance affects vaccine access, while emphasizing evidence-based data on proven shots.
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