U.S major pharmaceutical companies announce an increment in prices on more than 200 drugs

A healthcare research firm, 3 Axis Advisors, announced on Tuesday that major pharmaceutical companies like Sanofi SA, Pfizer, and GlaxoSmithKline have decided to hike up the U.S. list prices for as many as 200 of their manufactured drugs, with implementation plans already in action. The new prices are likely to be applicable from Wednesday.

3 Axis co-founder, Eric Pachman, further highlighted that the average increase in prices will remain capped at 5%. The maximum increase on a few of the drugs will be that of 10% while the remaining will see an increase in the range of 4% to 6%.  

Reduced Healthcare Prices Were The Limelight Of Trump’s Presidential Campaign In 2016

President Trump had promised to bring the healthcare prices down in his presidential campaign in 2016. With him running for elections again in 2020, the hike in prices may not be well-received. While further hikes may be announced later in the week, the political pressures are weighing on the pharmaceutical companies to keep the increments well under 10%.

Sources from Pfizer announced that at least 50 of the company’s drugs including Xeljanz used against rheumatoid arthritis and cancer curing Ibrance will see an increase in prices on Wednesday. Ibrance is a popular drug used in cancer treatment that is known to have generated as much as $5 billion in revenue for the pharmaceutical company in 2019.

Pfizer’s spokeswoman, Amy Rose, has confirmed the news circling an imminent price hike on Wednesday. She also commented that approximately 27% of the Pfizer drugs will see an increase in prices with the median increase being 5.6%. Almost 43% of the increase in prices will be confined to sterile injectables, with hardly an added $1 per drug.

GlaxoSmithKline Pledged To Keep The Price Increments Within 5%

GlaxoSmithKline, on the other hand, will raise the prices for over 30 drugs on its portfolio. Some of its megahit drugs like Ellipta inhaler, HIV-focused ViiV, and cancer drug Zejula will have higher prices starting from Wednesday. The company announced that the increment will lie in the range of 1% to 5% depending on the individual drugs.  

Lastly, Sanofi will be increasing the prices for 10 of its popular drugs. The increment for Sanofi’s drugs will also be capped at 5%.

Keeping the market conditions and cost of production in mind, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. will also raise prices on at least 15 of its manufactured drugs. The average increase is expected to be higher than the competitors at over 6%.