On December 11, 2023, the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) published its latest report on Unsupported Price Increases (UPI) of prescription drugs in the United States. Among the top 10 drugs with net price increases in 2022 that had substantial effects on U.S. spending, ICER determined that eight lacked adequate new evidence to support any price increase. These included, AbbVie’s Humira, Janssen’s Darzalex, Pfizer’s Ibrance, Amgen’s Prolia, Salix Pharmaceuticals’ Xifaxan, Amgen’s Xgeva, Roche/Genentech’s Perjeta, and Seagen’s Adcetris. The increase in spending on these drugs due to the net price change ranged from $63 million for Adcetris to $386 million for Humira. Overall, these increases accounted for $1.27 billion in additional drug costs. One of the provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is aimed at lowering prescription drug prices by requiring drug companies to pay rebates to Medicare if prices rise faster than inflation for drugs used by Medicare beneficiaries, beginning in 2023.
