Trump's pressure did not stop price increases: Pharmaceutical companies plan to raise prices on at least 350 drugs in the United States.

According to data provided exclusively by the medical research company 3 Axis Advisors, pharmaceutical companies plan to increase prices for at least 350 brand-name drugs in the United States, including vaccines for COVID, respiratory syncytial virus, and shingles, as well as the blockbuster cancer treatment drug Ibrance. This comes as the Trump administration pressures them to lower prices. Compared to the same period last year, the number of drugs planned to be increased in price in 2026 has increased, with over 250 drugs announcing price hike plans at this time last year. The median price increase for this year is around 4%, consistent with 2025. These price hikes do not reflect rebates or other discounts to pharmacy benefit managers. Pharmaceutical companies are also planning to lower prices on some drugs. Pharmaceutical companies also plan to lower prices on approximately 9 drugs from their catalog. This includes a more than 40% reduction in price for Boehringer Ingelheim's diabetes drug Jardiance and three related therapies. Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly & Co., which jointly sell Jardiance, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the reasons for the price reduction. Jardiance is one of the 10 drugs that the U.S. government successfully negotiated price reductions for under Medicare plans for people aged 65 and older in 2026. As a result of the negotiations, Boehringer and Eli Lilly reduced the price of the drug by two-thirds. Currently, prescription drug prices paid by American patients are much higher than in other countries, often nearly three times that of other developed countries. Trump has been pressuring pharmaceutical companies to lower prices to levels similar to what patients in similarly wealthy countries pay. Despite reaching agreements with 14 pharmaceutical companies on the prices of some of their drugs under government healthcare programs for low-income Americans and cash-pay patients, there are still plans to increase prices for 350 drugs. Companies such as Pfizer Inc., Sanofi, Boehringer, Novartis AG, and GlaxoSmithKline are among them, planning to raise prices on some drugs on January 1. "These agreements have been billed as transformative, but in terms of what actually drives up U.S. prescription drug prices, they're just making some marginal tweaks," said Dr. Benjamin Rome, a health policy researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Rome stated that these companies seem to be maximizing prices while negotiating behind-the-scenes discounts with healthcare and drug insurance companies, then setting another price for cash sales directly to consumers. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declined to comment. Consistent with inflation Pfizer Inc. announced the most increases in catalog prices, involving around 80 different drugs, including the cancer drug Ibrance, migraine drug Nurtec, COVID treatment drug Paxlovid, and some hospital drugs such as morphine and hydrocodone. Most of Pfizer Inc.'s drugs have increases under 10%, but the COVID vaccine Comirnaty increased by 15%, while some of its relatively cheaper hospital drugs saw increases of more than four times. In a statement, Pfizer Inc. stated that it had adjusted the average catalog prices of its innovative drugs and vaccines for 2026 to levels below overall inflation rates. "Moderate price increases are necessary to support our investments, which enable us to continue discovering and providing new drugs and addressing the increased costs throughout our business," the company said. There was a time when significant increases in drug prices were more common in the U.S. However, due to criticism from legislators and new government policies (such as penalties for companies that raise prices for drugs covered by healthcare plans by more than inflation), pharmaceutical companies have reduced the extent of price hikes. European pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline plans to raise prices on approximately 20 drugs and vaccines by 2% to 8.9%. The company stated its commitment to fair pricing and that price increases are necessary to support scientific innovation. Sanofi and Novartis AG did not respond to requests for comment. More price increases and decreases are expected in early January, historically a major month for pharmaceutical companies to raise prices. 3 Axis is a consulting company that collaborates with pharmacist groups, health plans, and some pharmaceutical industry-related groups on drug pricing and supply chain issues. It is an affiliate entity of the non-profit drug pricing organization 46brooklyn and shares employees with it.