US drugmakers raise prices regardless of rebates; report

Just as the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions begins hearings examining the drug delivery system, the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) is releasing a new analysis, "Increasing Prices Set by Drugmakers Not Correlated With Rebates," that shows drugmakers' pricing strategies are not connected to the rebates and discounts they negotiate with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). The analysis finds that prices rise even when rebates are low or non-existent.

"This study definitively shows that drugmakers set and raise prices unrelated to the rebates they negotiate with PBMs," said PCMA president and chief executive Mark Merritt, adding: "In fact, many high-priced drugs like Sovaldi [sofosbuvir from Gilead], which initially cost $84,000, involved no rebates until other competitors came to market."

Major findings from the new study include: