New Medicine With Higher Prices In The U.S.

Reuters found that some pharmaceutical manufacturers are keeping the secret about the pricing of those treatments. Subsequently, they received significant criticism in recent years.

Reuters further discovered that the average yearly price of 13 novel drugs authorized for chronic conditions produced by the USDA this year is $257,000.

Everything fit like a puzzle, as seven other newly-launched drugs were priced beyond $200,000. The other three drugs launched in 2022 are used intermittently. Hence, they were not incorporated into the calculation.

As stated by a study published recently in JAMA last year, the average yearly price rose to $180,000 for the 30 drugs first marketed through mid-July 2021.

JAMA Calculations

The Reuters calculation does not replicate the work of that study. However, it indicates that the direction of new drug prices persists in growing.

Furthermore, unlike Reuters, the JAMA study did not include drugs that are used intermittently. This adjustment was because drugs for rare diseases have higher prices.

According to the pharmaceutical industry, new drug prices, many of which now treat rare diseases for which there are no treatments, reflect their value to patients, including the capacity to prevent costly emergency room visits and hospital stays.

Drugmakers also highlight that they do not define what U.S. patients pay for the medicines. Each person’s individual (health) insurer and plan will define the out-of-pocket costs, Eli Lilly & Co (NYSE: LLY) displayed in response to a question regarding the $12,700 annual price of its new diabetes drug Mounjaro, counting that the company offers savings cards to decrease those costs to as short as $25 a month.