WASHINGTON – Following ICER’s report today that drug increases were unsupported by clinical research findings or other innovations, Restore Public Trust made the following statement:
“This report reflects exactly what we already suspected: Big Pharma is price-gouging Americans while the Trump administration gives them a free pass,” said Lizzy Price, director of Restore Public Trust. “Trump and Azar claim they want to help sick Americans get the medications they need, but they’ve repeatedly given into the interests of their Big Pharma buddies, allowing Americans in need to suffer. This is what we’ve come to expect from an administration that picked a former pharma executive to lead HHS — an administration that allows Big Pharma to flourish while Americans end up rationing their unaffordable prescription drugs.”
POLITICO: ICER: ‘Unsupported’ price increases tacked billions onto drug spending
Manufacturer price hikes on seven drugs cost insurers and patients an additional $5.1 billion over two years with no evidence the drugs’ actual value had increased, according the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review.
The cost-effectiveness group released its first annual report on “unsupported price increases” for hikes that are not associated with new clinical research findings or other innovation that would indicate a drug had additional worth.
ICER focused on seven medicines that it said contributed to the largest increase in drug spending in 2017 and 2018, based on net sales revenue and price hikes…. [See link for full article.]
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