BIG PHARMA WATCH: NEW STUDY FINDS DRUG COMPANIES CONTINUING TO HIKE PRICES WITHOUT IMPROVING THEIR DRUGS

Jan 13, 2021

Unjustified Rx Price Increases Cost American Patients & Health System Billions

Big Pharma repeatedly hikes prices on brand name drugs without making any improvements to those medications. That’s the finding of a new analysis conducted by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER). The report found that drug companies hiked prices on seven popular drugs in 2019 with no evidence that the drugs had been improved. In other words, brand name drug makers jacked up prices without adding any value.

The ICER analysis found:

AbbVie increased the price of its best-selling rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira by 6.2 percent.
Johnson & Johnson increased the price of schizophrenia medication Invega Sustenna by 10.7 percent.
Salix jacked up the price of antibiotic Xifaxan by 13.3 percent.
Bristol-Myers Squibb increased the price of rheumatoid arthritis drug Orencia by 7.4 percent.
UCB raised the price of Vimpat by 5.6 percent.
Amgen hiked the price of Enbrel by 8.9 percent.
Biogen increased the price of multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera by 3.7 percent.
These unjustified price increases resulted in patients and health plans spending a total of $1.2 billion in increased costs.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 58 million Americans struggled to afford their prescription drugs. Now, the ongoing economic impact of the public health crisis continues to leave millions of American workers, families and seniors struggling just to stay afloat. Meanwhile, prescription drug prices continue to rise, due to continued price-gouging behavior from Big Pharma – making it even harder for American patients to afford their medications.

At a time when Americans are grappling with the economic consequences of the pandemic, you would think Big Pharma would show some restraint. Instead, brand name drug makers continue to put profits over patients and repeatedly hike prices. Drug companies have already increased prices on more than 700 brand name drugs in the first two weeks of 2021 as part of the industry’s traditional biennial price hikes with an average price increase of over four percent.

Pfizer hiked prices on more than 130 drugs, including on its cancer treatment Ibrance and popular rheumatoid arthritis drug Xeljanz.
GlaxoSmithKline raised prices on more than 30 drugs, including on its blockbuster respiratory treatments and its cancer drug Zejula.
Sanofi raised prices on more than one dozen of its drugs.

Last summer, despite calls to suspend traditional mid-year price hikes during the pandemic, Big Pharma hiked prescription drug prices on more than 65 brand name drugs.

Big Pharma is busting profit and revenue expectations and receiving billions of dollars in research funding from taxpayers while millions of Americans are struggling. Engaging in price hikes during a pandemic, while receiving billions of dollars from taxpayers to help develop COVID-19 treatments, demonstrates why policymakers must act to hold Big Pharma accountable.

Read more on market-based solutions to hold Big Pharma accountable and lower prescription drug prices HERE.

Read the full ICER report HERE.