Good morning, Pharmalittle readers. Reporter Andrew Joseph here filling in for Ed from STAT’s London outpost, where we’re feeling a bit of panic having just looked at the calendar and realizing what day it is. To paraphrase my generation’s poet laureate, August really did slip away into a moment in time. But like us, the news isn’t on holiday, and we have a packed edition for you. Here are the latest headlines.
A new analysis of mid-year price hikes has found that, despite policy changes under the Inflation Reduction Act, drug prices are on the rise, STAT reports. On July 1, drugmakers raised the wholesale price on more than 123 drugs in what’s the largest number of mid-year price hikes since 2013, according to data from drug pricing nonprofit 46brooklyn and the Elsevier Gold Standard Drug Database. The median price increase for these drugs was 3.4%, just above the one-year inflation rate of 3.2%. For the first time this year, drugmakers’ biannual price hikes will be factored into rebates, or partial refunds, they will have to pay to Medicare if they increase prices above the rate of inflation.
Speaking of: The Biden administration is expected to disclose early next week the first 10 prescription drugs selected for Medicare price negotiations, ahead of a White House event next Tuesday to celebrate the milestone, Politico writes. The announcement will mark a major step in a bid to lower drug prices through the first-ever direct negotiations between Medicare and pharmaceutical manufacturers over a set of medicines. Biden health officials are expected to reveal the initial list before the stock market opens Tuesday morning.