Trump signs presidential memorandum targeting 'misleading' prescription drug advertisements

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a presidential memorandum that is designed to protect Americans from misleading prescription drug advertisements.

The memorandum directs Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary to take action to provide more clarity on prescription drugs and the risks of taking them.

"These advertisements can mislead the public about the risks and benefits, encourage medications over lifestyle changes, inappropriately intervene in the physician-patient relationship, and advantage expensive drugs over cheaper generics," Trump wrote in the memorandum. 

The president directed Kennedy to ensure accuracy in direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertisements, such as by increasing the amount of information in the advertisements regarding any risks associated with the drugs, and Makary to enforce legal requirements for the advertisements to relay truthful information.

“I’ve [never] been loyal to the special interests; I have been loyal to our patients and our people that need drugs — prescription drugs — and devoted myself completely to fighting for the American people," Trump said in a White House fact sheet.

The memorandum comes after Trump urged major pharmaceutical manufacturers to lower the costs of prescription drugs in July by embracing "most-favored-nation" pricing for the U.S. 

The president sent the request to the heads of companies like AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Genentech, Gilead, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Regeneron and Sanofi.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.