NEW YORK (Reuters) – Drug manufacturers, including Pfizer Inc, Sanofi SA and GlaxoSmithKline Plc, plan to raise US prices for more than 300 drugs in the United States on January 1, according to drug manufacturers and data analyzed by medical research firm 3 Axis Advisors.
Hiking comes as drugmakers move away from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has reduced doctor visits and demand for some drugs. It is also fighting the new rules to reduce drug prices from the Trump administration, which would reduce the profitability of the industry.
The companies maintained their price increases by 10% or less, and the largest drug companies that have raised prices so far, Pfizer and Sanofi, kept almost all their increases by 5% or less, he said. Axis. 3 Axis is a consulting firm that works with pharmacist groups, health plans and foundations on drug pricing issues and the supply chain.
GSK has increased prices for two vaccines – the Shingrix shingles vaccine and diphtheria, tetanus and the Pediarix pertussis vaccine – by 7% and 8.6%, respectively, said 3 Axis.
Teva Pharmaceuticals Inc. has raised prices for 15 drugs, including Austedo, which treats rare neurological disorders, and Qvar steroid asthma, which together grossed more than $ 650 million in sales in 2019 and saw price increases of between 5% and 6%. . Teva has raised prices for some drugs, including Amrix muscle relaxant and Nuvigil narcolepsy treatment, by up to 9.4%.
Several price increases are expected to be announced on Friday and early January.
In 2020, drug manufacturers increased prices on more than 860 drugs by about 5%, on average, according to 3 Axis. Increases in drug prices have slowed substantially since 2015, both in terms of the size of the increases and the number of medicines affected.
The increases are taking place as pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer play a hero in developing COVID-19 vaccines in record time. The increases could help offset lost revenue as doctors’ visits and new prescriptions fell during the global deadlock.
Pfizer plans to increase prices on more than 60 drugs by 0.5% to 5%. These include increases of about 5% in some of its bestsellers, such as the treatment for rheumatoid arthritis Xeljanz and the cancer drugs Ibrance and Inlyta.
Pfizer said it adjusted its list prices for its drugs by about 1.3% for all products in its portfolio, in line with inflation.
“This modest increase is needed to support investments that allow us to continue to discover new drugs and provide these discoveries to patients who need them,” spokeswoman Amy Rose said in a statement, citing the COVID vaccine. 19 developed by the company with the German company BioNTech SE.
He said his net prices, which return discounts for pharmacy benefit managers and other discounts, have actually fallen over the past three years.
Sanofi in France plans to raise prices for vaccines by 5% or less and will announce more price increases later in January, said spokeswoman Ashleigh Koss.
None of the company’s price increases will exceed the expected rate of growth in US health spending by 5.1%, she said.
Reducing the prices of prescription drugs in the US – which are among the largest in the world – has been a focus of US President Donald Trump, after becoming a core commitment of his 2016 campaign. executive orders at the end of 2020 aimed at reducing prices, but their impact could be limited by legal challenges and other issues.
A federal judge earlier this month blocked a last-minute Trump administration rule aimed at lowering drug prices, which was to be implemented earlier this year. It has been challenged by drug industry groups, including PhRMA, the nation’s largest pharmaceutical trade group.
President-elect Biden also promised to cut drug costs and allow Medicare, a US government health insurance program, to negotiate drug prices. He has the support of Democrats in Congress to pass such legislation, which the Congressional Budget Office said could cost the industry more than $ 300 billion by 2029.
Reported by Michael Erman, edited by Nick Zieminski