Pharmacists raise prices by 3.3% in the new year

Pfizer Inc.,

PFE 0.19%

which has a wide product portfolio, led the largest number of increments, raising prices by 5% or less on more than 200 products. The pharmaceutical industry typically sets prices for its therapies at the beginning of the year and again in the middle of the year.

In all, about 70 drug manufacturers raised prices in the United States on Friday, according to an analysis by Rx Savings Solutions, which sells software to help employers and health plans choose the least expensive drugs. According to the analysis, the average increase of 3.3% included changes in different doses for the same drug. Inflation rose 1.2% in the last twelve months.

This year’s average is lower than a year ago, when more than 60 companies raised the prices of hundreds of drugs by an average of 5.8%, according to the analysis. However, he found that companies increased prices by at least 50% more products compared to last year.

The largest price increase, 31%, occurred through Advanz Pharma Corp.

CXRXF -11.80%

and its hypertension product Dutoprol, according to the analysis. The drug is a branded combination of two low-cost generic drugs that have been around for decades. The UK-based company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Pfizer is implementing a Covid-19 vaccine it developed with German BioNTech SE in the US and other countries. A year ago, Pfizer similarly raised the prices of various drugs and President Trump had previously criticized him for the way he has set the price of his products.

Many of the New York-based company’s products rose in price by 5% or less, according to Rx Savings Solutions ’analysis. Among them is the treatment of Ibrance breast cancer, which sold about $ 4 billion worldwide for the first nine months of last year, in addition to Xeljanz rheumatoid arthritis therapy and the vaccine. pneumococcal Prevnar.

A Pfizer spokeswoman said the company’s price increases were in line with inflation and were needed to fund research into new drugs. Most of them affected sterile and hospital injections, about a third of which are sold at a cost lower or lower than their manufacturing cost, Pfizer said.

He said it is dedicated to growth through the wider use of medicines, not to rising prices. The company noted that its net prices were flat or fell over the past three years.

Price increases for companies affect the so-called list prices set by manufacturers; most patients do not pay these prices, which does not take into account discounts, rebates and insurance payments. Patients without insurance or with pharmacy deductibles can pay the full list price.

Drug manufacturers have said prices are rising along with bonuses they offer to pharmacy benefit administrators or PBMs, in order to get a favorable location on the lists of covered drugs known as formulas.

In fact, net prices have declined due to large rebates to PBMs, which negotiate prices in secret with their customers, such as employers and unions.

During the third quarter of 2020, net prices fell 2.3% from a 4.7% drop in 2019, according to pharmaceutical analysts at SSR Health LLC. Although list prices have risen on average almost every quarter since 2017, net prices have declined during that time, according to SSR data.

In recent years, pharmaceutical companies have increasingly cited the net price phenomenon, saying they don’t really benefit much from list price increases and that their net prices are suffering because they pay bigger rebates to profit managers. of pharmacies.

In recent years, the pharmaceutical industry has faced increasing control from patients, legislators, and health plans over the prices of its products. Some companies responded with commitments not to raise list prices beyond certain levels, including costs below inflation; but they are also trying new and creative ways to charge for their more expensive drugs.

The Trump administration’s efforts to cut drug prices have been quite frustrated by industry demands, including an attempt to link the prices of certain prescription drugs in the U.S. to prices in other developed countries. However, in November, the administration finalized a rule that sought to curb the bonuses paid to Medicare intermediaries.

The administration of President-elect Joe Biden is also expected to try to reduce the costs of prescription drugs, and Biden has called for the prices of newly released drugs to be limited. Most of his proposals are based on the Democratic Game Book to curb drug prices, including one that would establish an independent government board to determine the prices paid by most government procurement programs, including Medicare.

“Millions of consumers in this country seriously need information to make more informed decisions about what options their therapy and pharmacy have and to avoid pitfalls,” said Michael Rea, executive director of Rx Savings Solutions. Customers at Overland Park, Canada include Target Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp.

Most of the prices of the products of the analysis of his company increased less than 10%.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.

YOURS 0.52%

, a major pharmaceutical company in generic drugs, raised the prices of a dozen products, including some painkillers, according to the analysis. Ajovy also increased the price of migraine medicine by 5%, according to the analysis.

A Teva spokeswoman said the Israel-based company sets prices to help patients access its products, while maintaining product and shareholder research commitments.

According to the analysis, Glaxo, based in the UK, increased the prices of the Shingrix shingles vaccine and the Bexsero meningitis vaccine by 7%.

A Glaxo spokeswoman confirmed the increases and said the average increase in the company’s product portfolio was 2.6%. He also said the company raised prices less than last year and did not raise the price of 18 products.

According to the analysis, the French Sanofi increased the price of more than a dozen products by 5% or less. A company spokeswoman said the increases are lower than the overall growth rate of the country’s health spending and that the company values ​​its products responsibly.

Bausch Health BHC 3.69%

Cos., Which during the summer announced plans to separate its eye care business, raised prices by about 40 products, according to the analysis. Affected medications include stomach medicine Xifaxan and antidepressant Wellbutrin, which increased the price by 8%.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Write to Jared S. Hopkins at [email protected]