SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Demonstrators protest pharmaceutical companies' lobbying against drug price reforms in Washington, D.C. on September 21, 2021.
(Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
Pharma Giants to Hike 350+ US Drug Prices in the New Year: Analysis
"Why? Because they can. Big Pharma does not care about us."
Dec 30, 2022
Global pharmaceutical giants plan to hike U.S. prices for hundreds of drugs next month in anticipation of the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act, which will allow Medicare to negotiate the cost of certain drugs starting in 2026, an analysis published Friday revealed.
The analysis, conducted by the healthcare research company 3 Axis Advisors and reported on by Reuters, said that Big Pharma corporations including Pfizer, AstraZeneca PLC, and Sanofi SA are set to raise the list prices—which do not include any rebates—on over 350 drugs early in January.
Reuters reports:
In 2022, drugmakers raised prices on more than 1,400 drugs according to data published by 46brooklyn, a drug pricing nonprofit that is related to 3 Axis. That is the most increases since 2015.
The median drug price increase was 4.9% last year, while the average increase was 6.4%, according to 46brooklyn. Both figures are lower than inflation rates in the United States.
Drugmakers largely have kept increases at 10% or below—an industry practice followed by many big drugmakers since they came under fire for too many price hikes in the middle of the last decade.
The new analysis came as drugmakers brace for implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which contains several provisions to lower prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries and to reduce the amount spent by the federal government on medications.
The IRA will require the government to negotiate future prices of some drugs covered by Medicare. Drugs selected for 2026 price negotiation will be announced by September 1, 2023, with negotiations set to begin the following month and run through August 2024.
Antonio Ciaccia, president of 3 Axis, told Reuters that the IRA would further a dynamic in which drugmakers launch products at higher costs in anticipation of public criticism of annual price hikes. Biogen's highly controversial Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm initially carried a $56,000 per year price tag—which the company's CEO called "fair"—that was later halved amid public outrage and questions surrounding the medication's efficacy.
"Drugmakers have to take a harder look at calibrating those launch prices out of the gate... so they don't box themselves into the point where in the future, they can't price increase their way back into profitability," Ciaccia explained.
As Common Dreams reported Thursday, Big Pharma and its Republican boosters and beneficiaries in Congress are trying to stymie the Biden administration's implementation of the drug price negotiation provisions of the IRA. Their efforts will be challenged by determined patient advocates, many of whose lives depend on access to affordable prescription drugs.
"The drug price provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act aren't a political 'sound bite'—they are historic legislation that allow for the innovation we need at prices we can afford," Utah-based activist Meg Jackson-Drage wrote in a letter to Deseret News earlier this month.
"Patients fought hard for the reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act," she added, "and we won't let Big Pharma and its allies' fearmongering scare us."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Global pharmaceutical giants plan to hike U.S. prices for hundreds of drugs next month in anticipation of the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act, which will allow Medicare to negotiate the cost of certain drugs starting in 2026, an analysis published Friday revealed.
The analysis, conducted by the healthcare research company 3 Axis Advisors and reported on by Reuters, said that Big Pharma corporations including Pfizer, AstraZeneca PLC, and Sanofi SA are set to raise the list prices—which do not include any rebates—on over 350 drugs early in January.
Reuters reports:
In 2022, drugmakers raised prices on more than 1,400 drugs according to data published by 46brooklyn, a drug pricing nonprofit that is related to 3 Axis. That is the most increases since 2015.
The median drug price increase was 4.9% last year, while the average increase was 6.4%, according to 46brooklyn. Both figures are lower than inflation rates in the United States.
Drugmakers largely have kept increases at 10% or below—an industry practice followed by many big drugmakers since they came under fire for too many price hikes in the middle of the last decade.
The new analysis came as drugmakers brace for implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which contains several provisions to lower prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries and to reduce the amount spent by the federal government on medications.
The IRA will require the government to negotiate future prices of some drugs covered by Medicare. Drugs selected for 2026 price negotiation will be announced by September 1, 2023, with negotiations set to begin the following month and run through August 2024.
Antonio Ciaccia, president of 3 Axis, told Reuters that the IRA would further a dynamic in which drugmakers launch products at higher costs in anticipation of public criticism of annual price hikes. Biogen's highly controversial Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm initially carried a $56,000 per year price tag—which the company's CEO called "fair"—that was later halved amid public outrage and questions surrounding the medication's efficacy.
"Drugmakers have to take a harder look at calibrating those launch prices out of the gate... so they don't box themselves into the point where in the future, they can't price increase their way back into profitability," Ciaccia explained.
As Common Dreams reported Thursday, Big Pharma and its Republican boosters and beneficiaries in Congress are trying to stymie the Biden administration's implementation of the drug price negotiation provisions of the IRA. Their efforts will be challenged by determined patient advocates, many of whose lives depend on access to affordable prescription drugs.
"The drug price provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act aren't a political 'sound bite'—they are historic legislation that allow for the innovation we need at prices we can afford," Utah-based activist Meg Jackson-Drage wrote in a letter to Deseret News earlier this month.
"Patients fought hard for the reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act," she added, "and we won't let Big Pharma and its allies' fearmongering scare us."
From Your Site Articles
- Patients, Health Advocates Push Big Pharma to Drop 'Unconscionable' Lawsuits ›
- Federal Judge Dismisses Pharma Giant's Challenge to Medicare Drug Price Negotiations ›
Related Articles Around the Web
Global pharmaceutical giants plan to hike U.S. prices for hundreds of drugs next month in anticipation of the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act, which will allow Medicare to negotiate the cost of certain drugs starting in 2026, an analysis published Friday revealed.
The analysis, conducted by the healthcare research company 3 Axis Advisors and reported on by Reuters, said that Big Pharma corporations including Pfizer, AstraZeneca PLC, and Sanofi SA are set to raise the list prices—which do not include any rebates—on over 350 drugs early in January.
Reuters reports:
In 2022, drugmakers raised prices on more than 1,400 drugs according to data published by 46brooklyn, a drug pricing nonprofit that is related to 3 Axis. That is the most increases since 2015.
The median drug price increase was 4.9% last year, while the average increase was 6.4%, according to 46brooklyn. Both figures are lower than inflation rates in the United States.
Drugmakers largely have kept increases at 10% or below—an industry practice followed by many big drugmakers since they came under fire for too many price hikes in the middle of the last decade.
The new analysis came as drugmakers brace for implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which contains several provisions to lower prescription drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries and to reduce the amount spent by the federal government on medications.
The IRA will require the government to negotiate future prices of some drugs covered by Medicare. Drugs selected for 2026 price negotiation will be announced by September 1, 2023, with negotiations set to begin the following month and run through August 2024.
Antonio Ciaccia, president of 3 Axis, told Reuters that the IRA would further a dynamic in which drugmakers launch products at higher costs in anticipation of public criticism of annual price hikes. Biogen's highly controversial Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm initially carried a $56,000 per year price tag—which the company's CEO called "fair"—that was later halved amid public outrage and questions surrounding the medication's efficacy.
"Drugmakers have to take a harder look at calibrating those launch prices out of the gate... so they don't box themselves into the point where in the future, they can't price increase their way back into profitability," Ciaccia explained.
As Common Dreams reported Thursday, Big Pharma and its Republican boosters and beneficiaries in Congress are trying to stymie the Biden administration's implementation of the drug price negotiation provisions of the IRA. Their efforts will be challenged by determined patient advocates, many of whose lives depend on access to affordable prescription drugs.
"The drug price provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act aren't a political 'sound bite'—they are historic legislation that allow for the innovation we need at prices we can afford," Utah-based activist Meg Jackson-Drage wrote in a letter to Deseret News earlier this month.
"Patients fought hard for the reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act," she added, "and we won't let Big Pharma and its allies' fearmongering scare us."
From Your Site Articles
- Patients, Health Advocates Push Big Pharma to Drop 'Unconscionable' Lawsuits ›
- Federal Judge Dismisses Pharma Giant's Challenge to Medicare Drug Price Negotiations ›
Related Articles Around the Web
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.