Drugmakers raising prices in 2021 but at lower rate

Many pharmaceutical manufacturers are raising prices this year, but at a lower rate than in the past couple of years, according to a new analysis.

On January 1, about 70 pharma makers raised prices on their products, according to an analysis from Rx Savings Solutions, The Wall Street Journal reported.

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However, the average increase of 3.3% was less than the price increases in previous years. In January 2020, manufacturers raised prices a significant 5.8%, and raised them 6.3% on average in 2019.

This year, Pfizer had the most price increases, raising prices by 5% or less on more than 200 products.

However, in 2020, brand name drug net prices dropped for the third consecutive year and brand name drug list prices grew at their slowest rate in at least 20 years, according to a new analysis from Drug Channels.

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Brand-name drug list prices grew by 4.2%, but net prices declined by -2.2%. So, the gross-to-net gap in prices was -6.0%, Drug Channels said.

“As list prices rise, the dollar value of the manufacturer’s rebates and discounts grows. The manufacturer provides larger rebates to offset the increase in list prices,” Drug Channels said. “Hence, the total value of the gross-to-net bubble expanded to an astounding $175 billion for 2019, despite the slowing growth in list prices and the negative growth rates for net price.”

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