New year, same egregious pricing practices from Big Pharma. Brand name
pharmaceutical companies increased prices on hundreds of brand name
prescription drugs to start the year.





 

January 9, 2026



TOPLINE



New year, same egregious pricing practices from Big Pharma. Brand name
pharmaceutical companiesincreased prices
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on hundreds of brand name prescription drugs to start the year. According to
Reuters
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, Big Pharma started 2026 with price hikes on at least 350 brand name drugs,
“including vaccines against COVID, RSV and shingles and blockbuster cancer
treatment Ibrance.” “More price hikes and cuts can be expected in early
January, which is historically the biggest month for drugmakers to raise
prices,” according to Reuters. Read more on Big Pharma’s egregious price hikes
to start the yearHERE
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.



Also, In case you missed it, a recent study
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published in JAMA Health Forum highlights how Big Pharma has been increasingly
relying on secondary and tertiary patents that are unconnected to the active
pharmaceutical ingredients (API) in top-selling drugs, in order to extend
monopoly pricing. Ascoverage
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of the study in Inside Health Policy notes, “[d]rugmakers are systematically
extending monopolies across hundreds of medicines — from birth control and
migraine treatments to cancer therapies and heart drugs — by patenting delivery
devices and peripheral technologies that often have little to do with the drugs
themselves.” Read more on the study in JAMA Health ForumHERE
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.



QUOTE OF THE WEEK



“Big Pharma’s price increases to kickoff 2026 already surpass its pace at this
same time last year, demonstrating brand name drug companies are not slowing
down in their business-as-usual approach to price-gouging the American people.”



Lauren Aronson, executive director, CSRxP
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DATA POINTS YOU SHOULD KNOW



Nearly Half



The number of U.S. adults who report that pleasant and happy visuals in
pharmaceutical ads are unrealistic and out of touch, and misleading, according
torecent data
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from SiriusXM Media.



TWEETS OF THE WEEK



@P4AD_: <[link removed]> “A statement from
Chuck Hurley, Board Chair of Patients For Affordable Drugs and David’s close
friend of more than 40 years, honoring David’s life and legacy following his
passing on Friday.
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”



@JAMAHealthForum
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“Device-focused patents extended exclusivity for over half of FDA-approved
drug-device combinations by a median of 7.5 years, frequently without
mentioning active ingredients.[link removed] <[link removed]>”



ROAD TO RECOVERY



Inside Health Policy: Sponsor Urges Congress To Act On Stalled DTC Pricing
Legislation
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Rep. Dave Taylor (R-OH), one of two lawmakers spearheading bipartisan
legislation that would order drug companies to provide pricing information in
all direct-to-consumer advertising, urged his colleagues on the House Energy &
Commerce Committee to advance the bill and cement into law a policy change the
first Trump administration attempted to make through regulation. The Drug-price
Transparency for Consumers (DTC) Act would require all drug companies to
disclose the price of their products in advertising targeted directly to
consumers. Taylor and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) introduced the House version of the
bill in June, months after Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL)
reintroduced a Senate version.



AARP: 3 Big Medicare Prescription Drug Changes Coming in 2026
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Big changes have come to Medicare’s prescription drug coverage, known as Part
D, that could affect how you pay for your medications — and how much you pay in
2026. Here’s what you need to know… Part D enrollees will face a $2,100 cap on
annual out-of-pocket prescription drug expenses in 2026, up from $2,000 in
2025, when the cap was introduced. The $100 increase, a 5 percent hike,
reflects what will be an annual adjustment to the Part D benefit. The 2026
amount is based on the percentage increase in average spending for covered Part
D drugs that occurred in 2024.



PHARMA’S POOR PROGNOSIS



Reuters: Exclusive: Drugmakers Raise US Prices On 350 Medicines Despite
Pressure From Trump
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Drugmakers plan to raise U.S. prices on at least 350 branded medications
including vaccines against COVID, RSV and shingles and blockbuster cancer
treatment Ibrance, even as the Trump administration pressures them for cuts,
according to data provided exclusively by healthcare research firm 3 Axis
Advisors. The number of price increases for 2026 is up from the same point last
year, when drugmakers unveiled plans for raises on more than 250 drugs. The
median of this year's price hikes is around 4% - in line with 2025. The
increases do not reflect any rebates to pharmacy benefit managers and other
discounts.



BioSpace: Pfizer Leads Industry-Wide Surge in Drug Prices for 2026 Despite
Political Pressure
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Drugmakers plan to raise the U.S. prices of 40% more drugs in 2026 than they
did in 2025—despite pressure from President Donald Trump to charge less.
Specifically, more than a dozen Big Pharmas have now reached Most Favored
Nation agreements with the White House. Nevertheless, drugmakers plan to raise
the U.S. prices of at least 350 branded medications, Reuters reported based on
data from healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors. That’s compared to the 250
or so drugs whose prices companies moved to raise at the start of 2025. At 4%,
the median price increase this year is the same as in 2025 and in line with the
average since the industry scaled back its annual price hikes in 2019.



Inside Health Policy: Study: From Birth Control To Cancer Drugs, Device
Patents Stretch Market Exclusivity
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Drugmakers are systematically extending monopolies across hundreds of
medicines -- from birth control and migraine treatments to cancer therapies and
heart drugs -- by patenting delivery devices and peripheral technologies that
often have little to do with the drugs themselves, according to a new analysis
published in JAMA Health Forum. The findings suggest that recent enforcement
efforts by the Federal Trade Commission and court rulings targeting inhalers
and insulin or GLP-1 injector pens capture only a fraction of the scope of
device-based patenting strategies that can delay generic entry.



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