Novartis will increase the price of a number of its drugs by between 5 and 10 percent. Bayer will increase prices for a number of its products by roughly 5 percent. (Photo: Shutterstock)
Major drug manufacturers are set to significantly increase prices for popular medications next year.
An exclusive report by Reuters is based on information obtained as a result of a new law in California that requires pharma companies to notify state agencies of plans to raise the cost of a medication by more than 16 percent over two years.
The companies planning on increasing prices in the new year include Novartis, Bayer, Allergen, Amgen, GlaxoKlineSmith, AstraZeneca and Biogen. In total, 28 companies plan on prices increases substantial enough to trigger the required notification in California.
Novartis will increase the price of a number of its drugs by between 5 and 10 percent. Bayer will increase prices for a number of its products by roughly 5 percent.
“We expect the number of 2019 increases to be even greater than in past years,” Michael Rea, CEO of Rx Savings Solutions, tells Reuters.
The price increases undercut President Trump's message that he is cracking down on pharma costs. In August, a number of drug-makers announced price freezes or walked back planned price increases in response to threats from the president on Twitter.
At the time, however, industry insiders told Politico that the moves by drug-makers were an easy way to give Trump a symbolic win in the hopes of preventing any meaningful crackdown. The price increases reported now lend credence to that analysis.
Pharma also reacted positively to a drug pricing plan unveiled by the Trump administration in May, viewing it as unlikely to have a major impact on prices. The industry began to worry, however, when the administration floated a proposal in October to tie Medicare prices of certain drugs to an international average.
While drugmakers may have viewed Trump's statements on drug prices as little more than populist posturing, some have voiced concerns about the prospect of cooperation between the president and the new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives.
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