BIG PHARMA WATCH: UNJUSTIFIED PRICE HIKES ON JUST SEVEN DRUGS COST U.S. $805 MILLION IN 2021

Brand Name Drug Companies Continue Raising Prices on Blockbuster Products With No Increase in Clinical Value for Patients

In case you missed it, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) released new data showing Big Pharma continues to repeatedly raise list prices on blockbuster drugs in the U.S. with no substantial increase in their clinical benefit for patients.

ICER found Big Pharma hiked prices on seven of the top 10 most popular drugs in 2021 with no accompanying increase in clinical value — increasing in overall drug spending by $805 million.

“Increases in drug prices frequently occur without important new evidence,” said ICER Chief Medical Officer David Rind in a statement on the report. “There remain many high-cost brand drugs that continue to experience significant annual price hikes, even after accounting for rebates.”

ICER also found brand name manufacturers hiked prices in 2020 on all three of the most expensive drugs in the Medicare Part B program with no meaningful increases in efficacy to justify the increases.

The price of the costliest drug, Horizon Therapeutics’ gout treatment Krystexxa, increased by 12 percent, raising out-of-pocket spending by $3,210 on average per patient. The second and third most widely used drugs among Medicare Part B beneficiaries, Seagen’s cancer drug Adcetris and Ipsen’s injection Somatuline Depot both increased costs by $1,000 per patient.

Read more on ICER’s report on Big Pharma’s unsupported price increases HERE.

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