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