(ConservativeJournal.org) – A new analysis from Reuters is suggesting the price of new medicines is going up; pharmaceuticals released in 2023 were 35% more costly versus the average cost of new drugs released in 2022. New drugs to come to market have started to shift their focus on rare but debilitating diseases like muscular dystrophy.
The average price for a year’s supply of a new medicine was roughly $300,000 last year, according to Reuters. They averaged the cost associated with 47 recently released pharmaceuticals. The average price in 2022 was $222,000. They also showed that the average in 2021 was $180,000, suggesting drugs have become more expensive over recent years.
Over half of the drugs that came to market in 2023 and 2022 were for rare conditions that impact less than 200,000 Americans, otherwise known as “orphan diseases.” The drugs don’t have a large potential market, yet they’ve eclipsed drugs that had more potential mass appeal. In years past, orphan disease treatments typically made up less than half of the newly approved medicines.
Dan Ollendorf is the chief science officer with the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) which works to analyze the rationale behind drug pricing. He claimed that the new drugs for orphan diseases are typically overpriced, compared to their benefits. Ollendorf added that often the drugs are the only thing available, however, which allows the companies leverage to set prices higher.
The Reuters analysis looked at 55 new drugs the FDA approved in 2023. They said that was an increase compared to the 37 drugs it approved in 2022. They also added that last year they approved 17 new “biologics” including four gene therapies. They did not include the antiviral Paxlovid from Pfizer, or any other experimental treatment that hasn’t earned full FDA approval.
The most expensive drug in the cohort was Veopoz from Regeneron. The cost of an annual supply is a whopping $1.8 million and the drug treats CHAPLE disease. The genetic condition triggers an overactive immune system.
The cheapest drug was Brenzavvy, a new diabetes medicine that only costs $576 per year and is owned by TheracosBio.
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