FAYETTEVILLE, NY, USA, April 21, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ — On January 1st, the pharmaceutical industry raised prices on 381 brand drugs averaging 4.5 percent. Since then, an additional 267 brands have increased prices through the end of the first quarter 2021, averaging 5.3 percent. The largest increase was 26.0 percent on Vaprisol-5% Dextrose (Cumberland Pharmaceuticals), used to elevate sodium levels. The second largest increase was 25.0 percent for Nitro-Dur (Ingenus Pharmaceuticals), used to prevent chest pain, followed by a 19.9 percent increase for Axumin (Blue Earth Diagnostics), an advanced diagnostic imaging agent. Notwithstanding these three exceptions, all price increases for the quarter were 10.0 percent or less.
Included with these increases for the first quarter are 110 brands in the top 200 most frequently dispensed products in community pharmacies in 2020, having an average price increase of 5.1 percent. These rankings are updated annually based on pharmaceutical market research surveys conducted by IQVIA. The largest increase of these brands is Nucynta (Collegium Pharmaceuticals), ranked 141st, with a 9.9 percent increase. The smallest increase, at 3.5 percent, is Kombiglyze XR (AstraZeneca) and ranked 161.
It is not out of the ordinary for the majority of price increases to occur throughout the month of January. Typically, the first week of the new year has the most activity in price increases. 2021 was no exception with approximately 75 percent of current price increases occurring during that time.
For more information on drug price increases, you can find our press releases on EIN Presswire Newsroom here: https://bit.ly/2Nkr0N7.
It is important to note we used, for this analysis, the Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC), a list price, that is set by the drug manufacturer without taking into account rebates, insurance, and other discounts that may be available.
Source
AnalySource® as of April 12, 2021 – Reprinted with permission by First Databank, Inc. All rights reserved. © 2021
* First Databank, Inc Drug Pricing Policy: https://www.fdbhealth.com/drug-pricing-policy
About DMD America, Inc
DMD America Inc. is a global data solution provider for drug pricing and product information delivered through our web-based service, AnalySource®. Utilizing the Medknowledge database made available through our relationship with First Databank, Inc. we serve the analytical and competitive intelligence needs of the bio/pharma industry, government, consultancies, health systems, and academia. Since 1996 our team has provided uncompromising client support and a focus on innovation in all aspects of our data service and company. Through AnalySource® we remain the industry leader for drug pricing, customized data pulls, ad hoc analytical reports, and government compliance form production.
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Eric Tedford
DMD America, Inc
etedford@dmdamerica.com
