47% of U.S. Drugs Launched in 2020-2021 Cost $150,000 or More Annually

By B.N. Frank

Remember all that media coverage last year of the controversial FDA-approved Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm, that was originally priced at $56,000/year (see 1, 2, 3, 4)? Apparently there were numerous other drugs launched in the U.S. that had an even bigger price tag.

From Common Dreams:

‘Unbelievable’: Half of New Drugs Launched in 2020-2021 Cost $150,000 or More Per Year

“Big Pharma’s yearly price hikes have pushed already sky-high drug prices into the stratosphere,” said one advocacy group.

Jake Johnson

Research published Wednesday in the medical journal JAMA estimates that close to half of all new brand-name prescription drugs launched in the U.S. in 2020 and 2021 came with an original price tag of at least $150,000 a year, a finding that sparked fresh calls for Congress to rein in the pharmaceutical industry’s virtually unchecked power to drive up costs.

Authored by researchers with the Program on Regulation, Therapeutics, and Law at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the new analysis finds that “from 2008 to 2021, launch prices for new drugs increased exponentially by 20% per year.”

“In 2020-2021, 47% of new drugs were initially priced above $150,000 per year,” the researchers wrote. “The trend in prices for new drugs outpaces growth in prices for other healthcare services.”

The study also shows that median launch prices of prescription drugs soared from $2,115 per year in 2008 to a staggering $180,007 in 2021.

“Unbelievable,” Nancy LeaMond, chief advocacy and engagement officer for the AARP, tweeted in response to the figures.

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