Drugmakers to Hike U.S. Prices on Over 200 Drugs

Drugmakers announced plans to increase prices on more than 200 drugs in the United States, reports Reuters . Almost all the price hikes will be below 10 percent, and about half will be between 4 percent and 6 percent — with a median price increase of roughly 5 percent. Many branded drugmakers have vowed to keep their U.S. list price boosts below 10 percent annually. Pfizer plans to raise prices on more than 50 drugs, including its cancer drug Ibrance and rheumatoid arthritis medication Xeljanz. According to Pfizer spokesperson Amy Rose, the company intends to increase the list prices on about 27 percent of its U.S. portfolio by an average of 5.6 percent. She added that 43 percent of the drugs to be hiked are sterile injectibles, and many of those hikes are less than $1 per product. Meanwhile, GlaxoSmithKline will raise prices on more than 30 drugs, including respiratory medications delivered through its Ellipta inhaler and the cancer drug Zejula, with increases ranging from 1 percent to 5 percent. Manatt Health adviser Ian Spatz suggested drugmakers could be keeping these price hikes relatively low to avoid political ire.