Pfizer, AbbVie, GSK, Eli Lilly among bulldozers (NYSE:PFE)
According to 46brooklyn Research, a nonprofit linked to healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors, pharmaceutical companies have successfully started 2023, raising prices of about 450 drugs this month and More rallies are expected.
Antonio Ciaccia, Director 46brooklyn’s chief executive officer said the 450 increases in wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) or list price so far this month represent only about a quarter of the total increase expected this year. WAC is the manufacturer’s price for wholesale or direct buyers and is not the same as the out-of-pocket price that consumers pay.
“It is certainly too early to make any broad statements about how 2023 compares to previous years, as there is a lot of activity that we expect to see before the end of the month,” Ciaccia said. . management magazine View drug list.
However, the rate of price increase this year has slowed from last year amid the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, which took effect on January 1, requiring drug manufacturers to pay rebates. for certain Medicare Part B drugs if their price increases exceed inflation.
The landmark law also allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate prices for Medicare-covered Part B and Part D drugs for the first time, with revised prices for ten drugs. firstly. The drug goes into effect in 2026.
According to 46brooklyn data, the overall WAC weighted average price increase based on Medicaid use stands at just 1.3% for all drugs in 2023, compared with a 5.1% increase in 2022. In 2022, drugmakers raised prices for more than 1,400 drugs, the most since 2015, with an average increase of 4.9%, roughly equal to the 2023 average of 5, 0%, lower than the industry 10%.
Pfizer leads: According to one Reuters data analysis 46brooklyn, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) announced the biggest increase in price this year, increasing prices of more than 80 brand name drugs and ten other brands at its subsidiary Hospira.
That includes a 6.0% increase for the JAK inhibitor Xeljanz (tofacitinib) and a 7.9% increase for the oral cancer drugs, Ibrance (palbociclib) and Xalkori (crizotinib).
A Pfizer (PFE) said that this year, the company’s average list prices for all drugs and vaccines have been adjusted ~3.6%, below inflation. “Modest increases are needed to support investments that will allow us to continue to discover and deliver new drugs and address rising costs across our business,” said the person. the spokesman added.
GSK (NYSE:GSK) came in second, increasing prices for 26 unique drugs, including a 6.9% increase for the Shingrix shingles vaccine.
The word analysis 46brooklyn pointed out that Omnipaque (iohexol), an X-ray contrast medium, has seen its largest percentage increase in list price this year as maker GE HealthcareCare (NASDAQ:GEHC), delivered a 26.8% gain, which Ciaccia attributed to supply constraints.
“While it is difficult to pinpoint the exact reasons for these types of changes, we do know that Omnipaque has experienced some supply challenges over the past year,” he said, adding, “before increased demand amid persistent shortages, I’m not surprised prices have gone up in an attempt to fill the gap.”
Prices of diabetes drugs increase: Other notable rallies include 4.9% for Novo Nordisk’s (NVO) (OTCPK: NO) diabetes injection Ozempic (semaglutide) and a 5.0% increase for Mounjaro (tirzepatide) and Trulicity (dulaglutide), its rival Eli Lilly (LLY) market. Treatments, some of which can also target obesity, are currently in short supply for some forms of the drug. due to increased demand.
Meanwhile, Sanofi (SNY) (OTCPK:SNYNF) decided to raise the price of its Lantus insulin injection by 3%. This week, California sued three drugmakers, including Sanofi (SNY), and three benefits managers accused them of take too much insulin.
Notably Amneal Pharmaceuticals (NYSE:AMRX) introduced the largest percentage drop, a 70.2% drop in the price of the multiple sclerosis therapy Lyvispah (baclofen) this month.
9.0% gain Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) deployed for the expensive CAR T-cell therapies Abecma (idecabtagene vicleucel) and Breyanzi (lisocabtagene maraleucel) are also prominent.
The price hike is the first since their market launch in early 2021, prompting “they to list prices comparable to other existing CAR-T therapies on the market,” a company spokesperson said. . However, Bristol Myers (BMY) expects its portfolio to reflect mostly constant U.S. net prices — including discounts and rebates — by 2023.
Ciaccia says that while the 5.9% price increase on Gilead Biktarvy’s HIV therapy isn’t the biggest, it could have the biggest impact on healthcare spending this year if Gilead discounts, rebates and other concessions (GILD) offers have not kept pace with price increases.
He points out that Biktarvy, a widely prescribed drug, accounts for more than $500 million in total Medicaid spending in 2022 and more than $1.7 billion in total Medicare spending in 2020.
Meanwhile, AbbVie (ABBV) increased the value of blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis treatment Humira by ~8.0% even as health insurers prepare for the end of this year’s US market oligopoly, treating sessions its imitation is on the same level as the branded version.