January 10, 2022

Prices Jump 5% On More Than 450 Prescription Drugs to Start the Year

Pharmaceutical corporations have already raised wholesale prices by a median of 4.9% on more than 450 prescription medicines in 2022, according to a new analysis by Stat.

The industry is expected to hike more prices throughout January. In 2021, the pharmaceutical corporations spread 783 price hikes throughout the first month of the year to avoid the heightened scrutiny of January 1 hikes. The initial batch of price increases includes a 4.9% increase on Trikafta, a blockbuster cystic fibrosis medication from Vertex that has no competitors and already has a list price of more than $311,000 per year.

A recent three-year investigation by the House Oversight and Reform Committee found that drug corporations increase prices in the United States because the government does not regulate or negotiate drug prices. The Committee’s report also revealed that price hikes went to executive bonuses and meeting revenue targets, not increased research and development or increasing the effectiveness of existing drugs.

“It is outrageous that legislation to lower drug prices and allow Medicare to negotiate with the drug corporations is stalled in the Senate,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance. “The industry’s monopoly power over prices is unjustified, and the American people are tired of paying the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. Older Americans can’t wait any longer.”