DOSE OF REALITY: NEW ICER REPORT FINDS BIG PHARMA’S LAUNCH PRICES REMAIN OUT OF CONTROL AND UNJUSTIFIED BY CLINICAL VALUE

Median Net Launch Prices Have Increased 35 Percent Since 2022, With Nearly One in Four New Drugs Priced Above $500,000 Annually

In case you missed it, a new report from the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) finds that Big Pharma continues to set out-of-control launch prices for prescription drugs newly entering the market, with prices increasing significantly over the past several years and the majority of treatments reviewed by ICER priced above estimates of their clinical value.

According to ICER’s 2026 “Launch Price and Access Report,” the inflation-adjusted median annual net launch price for newly approved drugs increased 35 percent between 2022 and 2025, from $190,553 to $257,369. During the same period, median annual list prices increased 24 percent, reaching $293,304 in 2025.

ICER’s analysis found that “approximately one in four drugs introduced in 2025 had an annual net price greater than $500,000, with two drugs exceeding $2 million. An additional 34% were launched at net prices between $200,000 and $500,000.”

ICER’s analysis also identified 17 brand name drugs launched between 2022 and 2025 with list prices above $1 million, with many exceeding $2 million per drug. These include:

• Bluebird Bio’s gene therapy drug SKYSONA with a list price of $3 million
• CSL Behring’s gene therapy drug HEMGENIX with a list price of $3.5 million
• Bluebird Bio’s gene therapy drug ZYNTEGLO with a list price of $2.8 million
• Immunocore Holdings’ cancer drug KIMMTRAK with a list price of nearly $1.29 million
• Sarepta Therapeutics’ gene therapy drug ELEVIDYS with a list price of $3.2 million
• Bluebird Bio’s gene therapy drug LYFGENIA with a list price of $3.1 million
• BioMarin’s gene therapy drug ROCTAVIAN with a list price of nearly $2.45 million
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics’ gene-editing therapy drug CASGEVY with a list price of $2.2 million
• Chiesi Global Rare Diseases’ enzyme replacement therapy drug LAMZEDE with a list price of nearly $1.46 million
• Krystal Biotech’s gene therapy drug VYJUVEK with a list price of $1.26 million
• Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ drug VEOPOZ with a list price of $1.17 million
• Orchard Therapeutics’ gene therapy drug LENMELDY with a list price of $4.25 million
• PTC Therapeutics’ gene therapy drug KEBILIDI with a list price of $3.95 million
• Pfizer’s gene therapy drug BEQVEZ with a list price of $3.5 million
• Mesoblast’s cell therapy drug RYONCIL with a list price of approximately $1.55 million
• Abeona Therapeutics’ gene therapy drug ZEVASKYN with a list price of nearly $3.15 million
• Novartis’ gene therapy drug ITVISMA with a list price of nearly $2.59 million

ICER’s report also detailed substantial changes in median annual launch list prices across several key categories of drugs between 2022 and 2025:

• Orphan drugs rose 28 percent, from $374,354 in 2022 to $480,000 in 2025.
• Biologic drugs rose 23 percent, from $374,246 in 2022 to $460,000 in 2025.
• Small molecule drugs more than doubled, increasing 102 percent from $98,457 in 2022 to $198,990 in 2025.
• Oncology drugs increased 3 percent, from $374,462 in 2022 to $387,256 in 2025.
• Non-orphan drugs rose 70 percent, from $30,653 in 2022 to $52,000 in 2025.
• Non-oncology drugs nearly tripled, increasing 195 percent from $66,885 in 2022 to $197,339 in 2025.

Despite these exorbitant price tags, ICER’s findings underscore that Big Pharma continues to set launch prices that far exceed the clinical value treatments provide to patients. According to the report, nearly 70 percent of the 26 newly approved drugs previously reviewed by ICER were priced above estimates of their clinical value. The report found that these drugs would require substantial additional discounts, with a median reduction of 63 percent needed to bring their prices in line with one of ICER’s value-based pricing benchmarks.

As the report explains, “High launch prices without anchoring to how well those drugs actually work drive up overall health care costs.”

The findings build on ICER’s 2025 report, which estimated that the U.S. health system could have saved more than $1 billion during the first year following approval of 23 new drugs if their launch prices had aligned with ICER’s estimates of clinical value.

The latest findings provide further evidence of Big Pharma’s out-of-control pricing practices and reinforce the need for bipartisan, market-based solutions to foster greater competition to high-priced products, earlier, to effectively lower prescription drug costs for American patients.

Read the full 2026 ICER report HERE.

Read more on Big Pharma’s increasing launch prices HERE and HERE.

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