Cysteamine Hydrochloride

According to an analysis by 3 Axis Advisors, American pharmaceutical companies plan to raise the prices of at least 250 brand-name drugs in early 2025. These drugs include Pfizer's COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid, Bristol Myers Squibb's cancer treatment drugs, and Sanofi's vaccines. While most drug price increases are below 10%, the median increase on January 1 is 4.5%, consistent with last year. Pharmaceutical companies have reduced the extent of price increases in recent years after facing criticism for significant price hikes over the past decade. Notably, the price increase figures do not include rebates and other discounts from pharmacy benefit managers. In the US, substantial price increases for drugs used to be more common, but pharmaceutical companies have reduced their price hikes in response to public criticism. 3 Axis Advisors' President Antonio Ciaccia noted, "Pharmaceutical companies have limited room to raise prices, meaning their only option is to take greater liberties with the launch prices." A Reuters analysis shows that the prices of new drugs in the US in 2023 were 35% higher than in 2022. Compared to December 29 of last year, over 140 brand-name drugs have announced price hikes, with more than 250 drugs seeing increased price margins. Additionally, pharmaceutical companies will also lower the prices of some drugs on January 1. For example, Merck & Co announced significant reductions in the price of its diabetes drugs Januvia and Janumet to bring their prices closer to the net price. The US has the highest spending on prescription drugs globally, and incoming President Donald Trump promised to lower drug costs by focusing on middlemen in the healthcare system. Other pharmaceutical companies may announce more drug price increases in January, as historically, January has been the month with the highest price hikes. Pfizer has increased the prices of most of its drugs, raising prices on over 60 drugs, including Paxlovid. The company raised the price of Paxlovid by 3%, while several other drugs saw price increases of 3% to 5%. Pfizer spokesperson Amy Rose stated in an email that the company has adjusted the average list prices of drugs and vaccines for 2025 to be below the overall inflation rate, at about 2.4%. She emphasized that this increase helps support investments in drug development and offsets costs. Bristol Myers Squibb raised the prices of its expensive cancer cell therapies Abecma and Breyanzi by 6% and 9%, respectively. A spokesperson for BMS mentioned the company's commitment to ensuring patients can access their drugs easily and noted that the price of Breyanzi reflects its potential transformative personalized treatment. Sanofi increased the prices of several vaccines by 2.9% to 9%. According to 3 Axis's analysis, the brand with the largest increase is Leadiant Pharmaceuticals under Essetifin in Italy. The company raised the price of the drug Matulane, used to treat Hodgkin's disease, by about 15%, and the eye drops Cystaran, used for the rare cystinosis disease, by about 20%. Spokespersons for Leadiant and Sanofi did not immediately respond to requests for comments.

By Michael Erman New York: Drugmakers plan to raise U.S. prices on at least 250 branded medications including Pfizer COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid, Bristol Myers Squibb's cancer cell therapies and vaccines from France's Sanofi at the start of 2025, according to data analyzed by healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors. Nearly all of the drug price increases are below 10per cent - most well below. The median price increase of the drugs being hiked Jan. 1 is 4.5per cent, which is in line with the median for all price increases last year. The increases are to list prices, which do not include rebates to pharmacy benefit managers and other discounts. Larger drug price increases were once far more common in the U.S. but in recent years drugmakers have scaled them back after price hikes drew sharp criticism in the middle of the last decade. "Drugmakers don't have much real estate any longer to increase prices over time, which means taking greater liberties on launch prices is really the only option they have in the face of expanded penalties for year-over-year price increases," 3 Axis President Antonio Ciaccia said. A Reuters analysis of prices for new drugs found that pharmaceutical companies launched new U.S. drugs in 2023 at prices 35per cent higher than in 2022. The over 250 drug hikes represent an increase from Dec. 29 last year when drugmakers unveiled plans to raise prices on more than 140 brands of drugs. Drug companies are also reducing some prices on Jan. 1. Merck & Co plans to cut the list price of its heavily discounted diabetes drugs Januvia and Janumet "to align the list price more closely to the net price." U.S. PAYS MOST The U.S. pays more for prescription medicines than any other country, and incoming President Donald Trump has vowed to lower drug costs by focusing on middlemen in the U.S. healthcare system. More drug price increases are likely to be announced by other drugmakers over the course of January - historically the biggest month for drugmakers to raise prices. Pfizer raised prices of the most drugs on the latest list - more than 60 drugs. As well as a 3per cent hike on Paxlovid, the company raised prices on medicines including migraine treatment Nurtec and cancer drugs Adcetris, Ibrance and Xeljanz between 3per cent and 5per cent. "Pfizer has adjusted the average list prices of our medicines and vaccines for 2025 below the overall rate of inflation - approximately 2.4per cent - across many products in our diverse product portfolio," Pfizer spokesperson Amy Rose said in an email. She said the increases help support investments in drug development and offset costs. Bristol Myers raised the price of its expensive cancer cell therapies Abecma and Breyanzi by 6per cent and 9per cent, respectively. The personalized blood cancer treatments can already cost close to half a million dollars. A BMS spokesperson said in an email that the company is "committed to achieving unfettered patient access" to its medicines. She said the price of Breyanzi in particular "is reflective of the potentially transformative, individualized treatment in a one-time infusion." Sanofi raised prices on around a dozen of its vaccines between 2.9per cent and 9per cent. The largest brand price increases according to the 3 Axis analysis were from Leadiant Pharmaceuticals, a unit of Italy's Essetifin. The company raised prices around 15per cent on its Hodgkin's disease treatment Matulane and about 20per cent on Cystaran, eye drops to help patients with symptoms from a rare condition called cystinosis. Spokespeople from Leadiant and Sanofi did not immediately respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Michael Erman; Editing by David Gregorio)