BIG PHARMA WATCH: AARP REPORT FINDS BIG PHARMA HIKES PRICES ON TOP-SELLING BLOCKBUSTERS IN MEDICARE PART D BY AVERAGE OF 98 PERCENT

Brand Name Drug Companies Nearly Double Prices on Medications Most Often Needed by America’s Seniors Since They First Enter Market

A new report from AARP’s Public Policy Institute finds that the list prices of Medicare Part D’s top 25 best-selling prescription drugs have increased by an average of 98 percent – or nearly double – since entering the market. The report found that “20 of the top 25 drugs’ lifetime price increases greatly exceeded the corresponding rate of general inflation.”

Egregious examples from the AARP report include:

• Eli Lilly’s diabetes drug Trulicity, which first came to market in 2014, has experienced a 100 percent increase in price during its time on the market while the corresponding increase in inflation over that same period is only 33 percent.
• Pfizer and Astellas’ prostate cancer drug Xtandi, which came to market in 2012, has experienced a 92 percent increase in price during its time on the market while the corresponding increase in inflation over the same period is only 37 percent.
• Bristol Myers Squibb’s multiple myeloma drug Pomalyst, which came to market in 2013, has experienced a 120 percent increase in price during its time on the market while the corresponding increase in inflation over the same period is only 35 percent.
• AbbVie’s irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) drug Linzess, which came to market in 2012, has experienced a 154 percent increase in price during its time on the market while the corresponding increase in inflation over the same period is only 36 percent.

“Brand-name drug prices have been increasing faster than the rate of general inflation for decades, putting life-saving medications out of reach for millions of patients who need them,” Leigh Purvis, author of the report and AARP’s prescription drug policy principal, said in a statement.

According to data on Big Pharma’s first 250 price increases to start the month, the median increase was 4.5 percent, significantly exceeding the most recent 2.7 percent rate of inflation from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Big Pharma’s price hikes have little relationship to any improved clinical value for American patients. According to a December analysis from the Institute of Clinical and Economical Review (ICER), brand name drug makers’ egregious price hikes on just five widely used prescription medications, without any accompanying true innovation, cost U.S. patients and the health care system an additional $815 million in 2023.

Read AARP’s full Public Policy Institute report HERE.

Read more on Big Pharma’s first round of price increases for 2025 HERE.

Read more on bipartisan, market-based solutions to hold Big Pharma accountable HERE.

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