DOSE OF REALITY: AARP REPORT FINDS PRICES FOR TOP-SELLING BRAND NAME DRUGS RISE DRAMATICALLY IN THE U.S. WHILE FALLING IN OTHER COUNTRIES

Report Finds List Prices for Best-Selling Medicare Part D Prescription Drugs Continue to Increase After Coming to Market in the U.S., While Declining in Other Countries

A new report from AARP’s Public Policy Institute finds Americans are paying significantly more for best-selling brand name prescription drugs than residents in other comparable countries. The report, which examined the 25 best-selling brand name drugs in the Medicare Part D program for which there are no generic or biosimilar competitors, found prices increased on average 81 percent for these drugs since coming to market. Meanwhile, in other countries, prices for these same brand name drugs have decreased on average by 13 percent.

In 2024, Medicare spent more than $100 billion on these 25 prescription drugs, and they were used by more than 15 million Medicare beneficiaries. As the report notes, “[i]n the U.S., brand name drug companies are largely free to increase their prices over time, whereas many other high-income countries have regulatory mechanisms that reduce post-launch drug prices.”

According to the report, “for 24 of the 25 drugs, costs rose [in the U.S.] anywhere from 14 to 873 percent after entering the market… In other comparable countries, the prices for 24 out of the 25 drugs decreased by 1 to 42 percent.”

Egregious examples from the AARP report include:

• The price for Amgen’s autoimmune drug Enbrel rose by 873 percent in the U.S. since coming to market, while decreasing 27 percent abroad.
• The price for Merck’s type 2 diabetes drug Januvia increased 126 percent in the U.S., while decreasing 40 percent in other comparable high-income countries.
• The price for Eli Lilly’s type 2 diabetes drug Trulicity increased 106 percent in the U.S., while decreasing 16 percent in countries abroad.

Despite setting increasingly out-of-control launch prices on brand name drugs to begin with, Big Pharma also continues to increase prices for these drugs after coming to market, typically at rates outpacing the rate of inflation.

Policymakers in Washington can effectively lower prescription drug prices for the American people, and counter Big Pharma’s egregious pricing practices, by holding brand name drug manufacturers’ accountable and advancing bipartisan, market-based solutions to foster greater competition from more affordable alternatives.

Read the full report from AARP’s Public Policy Institute HERE.

Read more on bipartisan, market-based solutions to hold Big Pharma accountable and lower drug prices HERE.