Pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer PFE.N , Sanofi SASY.PA and Takeda Pharmaceutical 4502.T plan to raise prices on more than 500 drugs in the United States in early January, data analyzed by research firm health 3 Axis Advisors.
More than 140 drug brands will see their prices increase next month, according to the firm.
Concerns are also growing over further disruption to supply chains due to protracted conflict in the Middle East, with shipping companies forced to halt or divert traffic in the Red Sea, the main maritime route for trade. global.
Pfizer announced, for the second year in a row, the largest number of price increases in January. This will represent the increase in the prices of 124 drugs and an additional increase for 22 drugs from its subsidiary Hospira.
Sanofi, which committed to reducing the prices of most of its prescribed insulins in 2024, will increase the prices of its typhoid, rabies and yellow fever vaccines in January by 9% each. .
However, three companies have announced lowering the prices of at least fifteen drugs in 2024, including GlaxoSmithKline
GSK.L, which last week said it would reduce prices of some asthma, herpes and epilepsy drugs by 2024.
These reductions come as several companies have already announced insulin price reductions earlier this year, in order to avoid penalties that could have been imposed under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
The drugmakers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Further drug price increases are expected to be announced during January, which is historically the month in which drugmakers raise prices the most.
(Reporting by Michael Erman; French version Lina Golovnya, editing by Zhifan Liu)