2LT International News

WASHINGTON D.C.: The annual price of newly-launched cancer drugs in the U.S. averaged $283,000 last year, a 53 percent increase from 2017, reported U.S. Democratic Representative Katie Porter.

In August, Reuters reported the record-high launch prices of new drugs in 2022 compared to 2021, which has driven the profits of drugmakers, and limited year-over-year price increases on existing drugs, due to pressure from lawmakers and the public.

The report highlights the reliance of cancer drugmakers on high launch prices, an area left out of the Medicare pricing limits in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) signed by U.S. President Joe Biden in August.

While focusing on Medicare price negotiation for older drugs and caps on price increases, the bill also limits annual out-of-pocket drug costs for beneficiaries to $2,000, as Medicare will be responsible for costs over that amount.

By law, Medicare is required to cover the cost of all cancer medications.

Porter, who championed inflation-based caps on drug prices, has called for additional national legislation to link launch prices to drug performance.

“The trend toward ever higher launch prices is ongoing and accelerating. And I think we should expect it to continue, unless we do something about it,” she told Reuters.

In response, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the drug industry’s main trade group, said that “government price setting has a devastating impact on biopharmaceutical research and development and places an additional barrier between patients and innovative medicines.”