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Median price increase is 4.5%, in line with last year

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Annual price increases have moderated, new drugs cost more

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Pfizer ( PFE ) to raise prices on more than 60 drugs

By Michael Erman

NEW YORK, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Drugmakers plan to raise

U.S. prices on at least 250 branded medications including Pfizer

COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid, Bristol Myers Squibb's ( BMY )

cancer cell therapies and vaccines from France's Sanofi

at the start of 2025, according to data analyzed by

healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors.

Nearly all of the drug price increases are below 10% - most

well below. The median price increase of the drugs being hiked

Jan. 1 is 4.5%, which is in line with the median for all price

increases last year.

The increases are to list prices, which do not include

rebates to pharmacy benefit managers and other discounts.

Larger drug price increases were once far more common in the

U.S. but in recent years drugmakers have scaled them back after

price hikes drew sharp criticism in the middle of the last

decade.

"Drugmakers don't have much real estate any longer to

increase prices over time, which means taking greater liberties

on launch prices is really the only option they have in the face

of expanded penalties for year-over-year price increases," 3

Axis President Antonio Ciaccia said.

A Reuters analysis of prices for new drugs found that

pharmaceutical companies launched new U.S. drugs in 2023 at

prices 35% higher than in 2022.

The over 250 drug hikes represent an increase from Dec. 29

last year when drugmakers unveiled plans to raise prices on more

than 140 brands of drugs.

Drug companies are also reducing some prices on Jan. 1.

Merck & Co ( MRK ) plans to cut the list price of its heavily

discounted diabetes drugs Januvia and Janumet "to align the list

price more closely to the net price."

U.S. PAYS MOST

The U.S. pays more for prescription medicines than any other

country, and incoming President Donald Trump has vowed to lower

drug costs by focusing on middlemen in the U.S. healthcare

system.

More drug price increases are likely to be announced by

other drugmakers over the course of January - historically the

biggest month for drugmakers to raise prices.

Pfizer ( PFE ) raised prices of the most drugs on the latest list -

more than 60 drugs. As well as a 3% hike on Paxlovid, the

company raised prices on medicines including migraine treatment

Nurtec and cancer drugs Adcetris, Ibrance and Xeljanz between 3%

and 5%.

"Pfizer ( PFE ) has adjusted the average list prices of our

medicines and vaccines for 2025 below the overall rate of

inflation - approximately 2.4% - across many products in our

diverse product portfolio," Pfizer ( PFE ) spokesperson Amy Rose said in

an email. She said the increases help support investments in

drug development and offset costs.

Bristol Myers raised the price of its expensive cancer cell

therapies Abecma and Breyanzi by 6% and 9%, respectively. The

personalized blood cancer treatments can already cost close to

half a million dollars.

A BMS spokesperson said in an email that the company is

"committed to achieving unfettered patient access" to its

medicines. She said the price of Breyanzi in particular "is

reflective of the potentially transformative, individualized

treatment in a one-time infusion."

Sanofi raised prices on around a dozen of its vaccines

between 2.9% and 9%.

The largest brand price increases according to the 3 Axis

analysis were from Leadiant Pharmaceuticals, a unit of Italy's

Essetifin. The company raised prices around 15% on its Hodgkin's

disease treatment Matulane and about 20% on Cystaran, eye drops

to help patients with symptoms from a rare condition called

cystinosis.

Spokespeople from Leadiant and Sanofi did not immediately

respond to requests for comment.