While President Donald Trump pushed drugmakers to lower prices in 2018-and some complied-many are starting out this year with price hikes.
Nearly 30 pharmaceutical manufacturers will raise prices on their medications sold in the United States in January, according to a Reuters article.
Thanks to a California law, drugmakers recently notified state agencies that they planned to raise prices in 60 days or longer, Reuters said. The law requires pharmaceutical manufacture to notify California payers if they intend to raise the U.S. list price on any drug by more than 16% over a 2-year period.
Related: Drug pricing controversies erupt
Novartis, Bayer, Allergan Plc, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Amgen, AstraZeneca Plc, and Biogen Inc. are among those planning to raise prices, according to Reuters.
Pfizer also said in mid-November that it will raise prices on 41 of its drugs, representing around 10% of its portfolio, early this year. All but 4 of the drugs will realize a price hike of 5%. Prices on 3 drugs will increase 3%, while 1 will go up by 9%.
In addition, list prices on all medications are expected to rise by 7% a year, but net prices will increase less than 2%, according to IQVIA.
Related: The impact of Medicare Part D proposals on drug pricing
“On average, 70% of the list price increase will go towards rebates, wholesale discounts, and other concessions that are not passed on to the consumer. Because of the increase in the use of generics and biosimilars, most people will pay less out of pocket for medicines,” Robert Goldberg, co-founder and vice president of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, told FormularyWatch.
However, the 2% of Americans with the greatest need for new medicines will pay more out-of-pocket, Goldberg said. In 2017, that 2% group paid $24 billion for the out-of-pocket costs of new medicines.
“Even if the net price of new medicines were cut by 30%, a small percentage of patients would still pay thousands of dollars out of pocket,” Goldberg said. “The most direct way to make medicines affordable to those who need them most is to eliminate cost sharing. And the most direct way to do that is to use rebates to reduce out-of-pocket cost to zero.”
Read more: Pharma exec defends 400% price hike
FDA Approves Subcutaneous Tecentriq to Treat Multiple Cancers
September 13th 2024Tecentriq Hybreza can be administered over seven minutes, compared with 30 to 60 minutes for IV infusion of Tecentriq. There is no word yet on when Tecentriq Hybreza will be available or what the price will be.
Read More
FDA Warns of Liver Injury with Veozah for Hot Flashes
September 12th 2024The FDA has identified a probable case of serious drug induced liver injury that occurred in a woman in the United States who had received Veozah. The agency is requiring additional liver blood testing after starting therapy.
Read More