A new report shows that despite the minimal year-on-year improvement, pharmaceutical companies continue to increase the prices of their most profitable drugs.

According to the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review, seven of the top 10 drugs that will inflate U.S. healthcare spending due to rising prices in 2020 do not provide substantial clinical benefits. analyze Established. Last year, the price increase of these seven drugs increased the health care expenditure by about 1.67 billion U.S. dollars, of which AbbVie’s rheumatoid arthritis biologics accounted for only 1.4 billion U.S. dollars.

“My biggest problem with Adalimumab (Humira) is the patent jungle they developed to hinder competition,” said Irene Fox, The senior director of pharmacy at the University of Utah Health University, he did not participate in the report. “There should be biosimilar products available for patients, but some minor adjustments are needed, such as a’stab-free’ formula-patents continue to expand.”

AbbVie has Prosecute Fox added that because of its series of patents, Humira is protected from US competition until 2023. Since the biosimilar of its $20 billion drug will be on the market in more than a year, it is not surprising that the price will rise sharply before its patent expires.

The ICER report shows that from the beginning of 2017 to the end of 2020, the net price of Humira in the United States is estimated to have increased by 29.6%. ICER researchers started with the 250 highest-selling drugs and narrowed it down by excluding products whose prices have risen by more than 2% of inflation. They also eliminated drugs when spending was mainly related to increased sales.

According to Vizient’s market, Humira is expected to be the main driver of drug spending in 2022 Appearance. But the price is expected Decline in 2023, Similar to the trend in other countries where AbbVie faces competition from biosimilars.

“The increase in drug costs is a key driver of the increase in the cost of providing care. We agree that in the absence of new evidence that the benefits of existing drugs and/or any new formulations increase, the continued increase in drug prices is a problem,” Steven · Lucio said, vice president of pharmacy solutions for group buying organization Vizient. “It is difficult to assess the effectiveness of these price increases on the healthcare system, because we don’t know exactly where the additional capital that the company gets through price increases will be invested.”

The company stated that AbbVie had objected to ICER’s “incomplete valuation”, which was inherently flawed.

“Although ICER itself admits that it lacks the ability to conduct comprehensive economic analysis, which is necessary to reach the conclusions in this report, the release of the UPI report does not have sufficient background or clearly explain why ICER believes that such inferences are reasonable ,” AbbVie said in response to the report.

Pharmaceutical manufacturers have deployed a series of strategies, such as patent litigation, rebate manipulation and delayed payment schemes, to avoid competition between generics and biosimilars. As for Humira, the first of five biosimilars was approved in 2016.Delaying competitors usually leads to higher medical costs, which In trouble whole system.

Industry experts said that the patent law should be adjusted to prevent companies from “changing” or making meaningless changes to products to expand their patent protection.Although many companies have Limit their year-on-year price increases ICER researchers wrote that in recent years, new prescription drugs with higher prices have been continuously introduced during public surveillance and legislative proposals.

ICER experts wrote: “If U.S. policymakers want a value-based system that aligns drug prices fairly with their ability to help patients, then we will need evidence-based tools to assess the fairness of price changes, as well as listing The fairness of prices.” To modern healthcare.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission collaborated in 2020 to limit anti-competitive behavior in the pharmaceutical industry, including filing false citizen petitions to delay competitors. However, Premier, the consulting and group procurement organization, pointed out in a letter to the FDA that the FTC has no right to take civil actions against manufacturers.

The company wrote: “The Prime Minister urged the FDA and FTC to cooperate with Congress to pass legislation allowing the FTC to take civil actions to prevent pharmaceutical companies from submitting false citizen petitions to delay the approval of competing generic drugs or biosimilars.”

Although the Democratic Party veto A clause in President Joe Biden’s “Rebuild Better” agenda allows Medicare to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies, and policymakers continue to push this issue.

Democratic Party recently suggested Legislation that will reduce the cost of prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries, cap out-of-pocket medical insurance costs at $2,000, and reduce the price of insulin.