U.S. drugmakers institute new round of increases

Early July is typically one of the two times each calendar year that U.S. drugmakers hike prices. Yesterday, on cue, many appeared to do just that.

B. Braun raised the price of its Isolyte saline solution by more than 100% to almost $6/package. Saline solutions, used to rehydrate patients and dilute medicines before administration, have been in short supply in the past few years.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK +0.1%) raised the price of ovarian cancer med Zejula (niraparib), acquired in Tesaro merger, by 5% to $6,913 for a 30-day supply.

Amneal Pharmaceuticals (AMRX -1.3%) hiked the price of thyroid med Unithroid by ~10%.

According to Rx Savings Solutions, 20 companies raised prices on over 40 products by an average of 13.1%, both higher than July of last year when 16 firms boosted prices by an average of 7.8%.

Many pharmaceutical makers have pledged to restrict increases to less than 10% per annum. During Q1, list prices for U.S. branded drugs rose 3.3% versus 6.3% a year ago per SSR Health LLC.

Some observers believe that many companies may raise prices later this year when there is less attention on the issue.

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https://seekingalpha.com/news/3475290-u-s-drugmakers-institute-new-round-increases