On January. 1, drug companies increased the price of hundreds of medications, with most prices increasing by 5% on average.
Prices went up on drugs 460, which is in line with the past few years according to STAT News. The start of the new year is the most awaited time for drug companies to raise prices, and more increases will likely be announced throughout January.
This round of price increases for 2022 included several important drugs:
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Gilead: 5.6% HIV drugs called Biktarvy or Descovy
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Pfizer: 6.9% on breast cancer drug Ibrance, 6.9% on the Prevnar vaccine for pneumonia and 4.4% on the heart drugs Vyndamax and Vyndaqel
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Purdue: 5 percent for OxyContin an opioid drug
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Vertex: 4.9% on Trikafta, an cystic fibrosis medication that is unrivalled and already had a list price of more than $311,000 per year.
According to to Axios, the increases have an effect on the drug’s list prices. Pharmacy benefit managers are able to negotiate lower prices for their drugs through rebates, so drugmakers may collect lower net price.
“We anticipate that net prices will continue to decline due to increased discounts and rebates,” a Gilead spokesperson told Axios.
But list prices still are the price that people who are uninsured pay, and coinsurance and deductibles are usually based on a drug’s list price, the news outlet reported. Drug companies also often earn most of the list price for patent-pending drugs that have little competition.
A spokesperson for Pfizer told Axios that the small increase was needed to help fund the investments that allow us to continue to develop new drugs and deliver the latest breakthroughs directly to patients who require them.
Vertex’s price hikes on Trikafta and other drugs for cystic fibrosis are the “first price increases for an Vertex medicine since 2017 and the first for…Trikafta,” a spokesperson told Axios.
The drug companies didn’t respond to specific questions regarding discounts or rebates as reported by the news outlet.
Sources:
STAT: “Drug makers ring in the new year with price hikes of 5% on hundreds of medicines.”
Axios: “The big-ticket medicines that will be more expensive by 2022.”
