By Bruce Gil
Pharmaceutical companies are raising the price of over 250 brand drugs this year.
The increases apply to list prices before accounting for insurance, rebates to pharmacy benefit managers, or other discounts.
This year’s increases reflect a sizable increase from Dec. 29 of last year, when drugmakers had unveiled plans to raise prices on over 140 brands. More price hikes are also expected throughout January, historically the busiest month for drugmakers to announce increases.
Pfizer (PFE+0.45%) led the latest round of hikes, raising prices on over 60 drugs — more than any other company. This includes a 3% increase for the company’s COVID-19 treatment, Paxlovid, and hikes of 3% to 5% for treatments such as the migraine medication Nurtec and cancer drugs Adcetris, Ibrance, and Xeljanz.
The largest price increase came from Leadiant Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Italy-based Essetifin. Leadiant raised prices by approximately 15% on Matulane, a Hodgkin disease treatment, and by about 20% on Cystaran, eye drops used to manage symptoms of the rare condition cystinosis.
Significant drug price hikes were once much more common in the U.S., but in recent years, pharmaceutical companies have scaled them back following backlash during the mid-2010s.
This shift also coincided with the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which requires drug manufacturers to pay rebates to the government for price increases that exceed the inflation rate on medications covered by Medicare. In response, some pharmaceutical companies have adjusted their strategy by introducing new drugs at higher launch prices and embracing treatments for rare diseases, also called orphan diseases. These illnesses typically affect a small population, usually 200,000 or less. Drug companies can leverage a lack of alternative treatments for these diseases to justify high prices.
Pharmaceutical companies set prices for new drugs in the U.S. 35% higher in 2023 than they did the prior year, according to an analysis by Reuters.
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