42 Prescription Drugs Hit With Price Hikes Amid the Pandemic

Drug prices are continuing to climb, even amid the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting widespread unemployment.

Drug manufacturers increase prices regularly, as often as twice each year, and the second round of 2020 price hikes on prescription medications landed this month.

So far, at least 42 prescription medicines have increased in cost — by 3.5%, on average, according to GoodRx, which tracks prescription drug prices at pharmacies around the country.

All 42 are brand-name drugs. Not one generic drug received a price hike this time around.

Last July, for comparison, drugmakers hiked prices on 37 brand-name drugs.

Early this year, pharmaceutical manufacturers increased prices by 6%, on average, for 639 medicines, as we reported in “Brace to Pay More for These 26 Prescriptions in 2020.”

Several of the drugs hit with price increases earlier this year have been hit with additional increases this month. Among them:

• Bidil (prescribed for heart failure)
• Symbicort (for asthma)
• Bydureon and Farxiga (for diabetes)

AstraZeneca, a large multinational drugmaker, has hiked prices on many of its popular diabetes medicines, including Symlinpen, Qtern, Xigduo XR and Kombiglyze XR, according to GoodRx. It also raised the price of its so-called “female Viagra” drug, Addyi, by 9.3% — the largest increase of any AstraZeneca drug this month.

The biggest drug price increase this July is 10%, for Adzenys XR-ODT, a stimulant used to manage attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to WebMD. It’s manufactured by Neos Therapeutics.

Here is GoodRx’s list of the biggest price increases in July:

• Adzenys XR-ODT: 10%
• Addyi: 9.3%
• Jornay PM: 6.1%
• Crestor: 6%
• Daliresp: 6%
• Nexium: 6%
• Adhansia XR: 5%
• Bevespi Aerosphere: 5%
• Omeclamox-Pak: 5%
• Tavalisse: 5%
• Xyosted: 5%

GoodRx tracks what are called list prices, which are the prices manufacturers set for their drugs. List prices typically differ from prices consumers pay because of health insurance coverage. Still, list prices are watched carefully because they serve as a barometer for changes in consumer drug prices.

For a complete list of all 42 drugs that have seen price increases so far this month, visit GoodRx’s blog. And to learn more about GoodRx, check out “5 Websites to Check Before Buying Prescription Drugs.”