According to data gathered by the healthcare research company 3 Axis Advisors, pharmaceutical companies want to increase the costs of at least 250 branded medicines in the U.S. as the new year commences. These products include Pfizer’s Paxlovid, which is a therapy for COVID-19; cancer cell treatments developed by Bristol Myers Squibb; and vaccines manufactured by Sanofi of France.

Most of the price increases for medications are considerably below 10%. The median rise in price for the medications that will be increased on January 1 is 4.5%, which is comparable to the median increase in price for all drugs over the previous year.

The hikes pertain to list pricing, excluding rebates to pharmacy benefit managers and other reductions.

Significant medicine price rises were once more prevalent in the U.S., but in recent years, pharmaceutical companies have reduced them after intense criticism during the mid-2010s.

“Drugmakers don’t have much real estate any longer to increase prices over time, which means taking greater liberties on launch prices is really the only option they have in the face of expanded penalties for year-over-year price increases,” 3 Axis President Antonio Ciaccia stated.

An investigation revealed that pharmaceutical firms introduced new treatments in the U.S. in 2023 at costs 35% higher than in 2022.

The increase in the price of more than 250 medicines signifies a spike from December 29 of the previous year, when pharmaceutical companies announced preparations to raise prices on over 140 prescription brands.

Pharmaceutical businesses also decreased prices on January 1. Merck & Co intends to reduce the list price of their significantly discounted diabetic medications, Januvia and Janumet, to better match the list price with the net price.

The U.S. incurs the highest expenditure on prescription medications globally, and President Donald Trump has pledged to reduce drug costs by targeting intermediaries within the U.S. healthcare system.

Additional price increases from various pharmaceutical companies are anticipated throughout January, which is historically the peak month for such hikes. Pfizer has implemented price increases on over 60 medications, including a 3% rise on Paxlovid, along with 3% to 5% increases on treatments for migraines, such as Nurtec, and cancer therapies including Adcetris, Ibrance, and Xeljanz.

Two of Bristol Myers’ most costly cancer cell treatments, Abecma and Breyanzi, had their prices increased by 6% and 9%, respectively. Already, individualized cancer therapies for the blood may cost nearly $500,000 USD.

The most significant brand price hikes, as per the 3 Axis investigation, were attributed to Leadiant Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Italy’s Essetifin. The business increased pricing by around 15% for its Hodgkin’s disease medication Matulane and by roughly 20% for Cystaran, eye drops designed to alleviate symptoms of the uncommon ailment cystinosis.

Leave a Reply