On Tuesday, CSRxP released a new analysis finding the pharmaceutical industry
continues to post profit margins 10 times higher than other sectors of the
prescription drug supply chain.





 

January 16, 2026



TOPLINE



On Tuesday, CSRxP released a new analysis
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finding the pharmaceutical industry continues to post profit margins10 times
higherthan other sectors of the prescription drug supply chain. The report
confirms Big Pharma’s egregious pricing practices and anti-competitive playbook
continue to drive blockbuster profits while keeping prescription drug prices
high for American patients — even as the pharmaceutical industry continues to
point fingers at others and oppose market-based solutions to lower prescription
drug prices, falsely claiming they would undermine innovation into new cures.
The full analysis can be accessedHERE
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.



And on Thursday, CSRxP launched
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a new advertising campaign highlighting how Big Pharma’s patent abuse tactics
and egregious pricing practices are the root cause of high prescription drug
costs, and a major driver of health care inflation, in America. The new ad
introduces “Phil the Pill, a new character who highlights the many ways Big
Pharma tries to “disguise the truth” of brand name manufacturers’ role in
making prescription drugs and health care unaffordable for too many Americans —
by pointing fingers at others and relying on debunked innovation rhetoric.
Watch CSRxP’s new ad “Master of Disguise”HERE
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QUOTES OF THE WEEK



“Brand name drug companies’ consistently posting profit margins 10 times
higher than others in the drug supply chain adds to the overwhelming evidence
that pharmaceutical industry opposition to market-based solutions to lower drug
prices is about protecting profits, not innovation, and further undermines Big
Pharma’s self-serving blame game designed to keep drug prices high.”



Lauren Aronson, executive director, CSRxP



DATA POINTS YOU SHOULD KNOW



872



The number of price hikes Big Pharma has imposed
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on brand name medications in just the first two weeks of January 2026, with a
median increase outpacing the rate of inflation.



TWEETS OF THE WEEK



@IMAKglobal <[link removed]>: “We
will be closely watching how Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk adapt their patenting
schemes to maintain monopoly control and delay affordable options for the GLP-1
market. To date, Novo Nordisk has filed 320 patent applications on its
semaglutide products while Eli Lilly has filed 53 on its tirzepatide products.
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”



@AccessibleMeds <[link removed]>
: “Want to lower the cost of prescription medications in the U.S.? Eliminate
barriers to market entry -- like patent thickets -- for generic and biosimilar
medicines. READ:
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@BiosimsCouncil”



ROAD TO RECOVERY



The McGill International Review: Opinion: The Simplest Way To Lower
Prescription Drug Prices In The US
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Americans pay roughly three times more for prescription drugs than consumers
in other developed countries, and more than four times more for brand-name
medications. One major reason these prices remain so high? Patent thickets.
Patent thickets are webs of overlapping patents that make it more difficult for
competitors to enter the market by forcing them to manufacture
biosimilars—near-identical versions of biologic drugs designed to match the
original product’s safety and effectiveness—without infringing on existing
patents or risking costly litigation. The result is higher legal barriers,
delayed entry of biosimilars, and reduced competition, all of which contribute
to persistently high brand-name drug prices.



PHARMA’S POOR PROGNOSIS



Endpoints News: How Merck Is Mounting A Patent Defense For Keytruda, Its $150B
Cash Cow
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…Merck is in a rush — “with urgency,” CEO Rob Davis says — to find ways to
expand its revenue sources before one of the world’s best-selling drugs loses
its patent protections and smaller rivals swoop in with generic versions called
biosimilars. Merck made two major buyouts last year and, ahead of next week’s
annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, is rumored to be
involved in a third. Now, there are mounting signs that Merck’s at work on an
additional plan to stave off the worst effects of Keytruda’s so-called patent
cliff, which is set to hit in December 2028, and implement a novel pricing
strategy.



Inside Health Policy: CSRxP Analysis: Pharmaceutical Industry’s Profit Margins
Still 10 Times Greater Than Other Sectors Of Drug Supply Chain
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Pharmaceutical manufacturers’ average annual net income margin is higher than
the average margin forother sectors in the U.S. prescription drug supply chain…
Pharmaceutical manufacturers’ lowest average margin in a single year is higher
than the highest margin of any other sector.



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