Dive Brief:
- Generic drug prices increased by 5.3% in the first quarter, in line with the average 5.1% growth rate over the last two years.
- Two new reports show that median generic drug prices increased by 5.3% in Q1 2015 (the price paid by retailers rose 4.7%), but the rate has slowed since Q3 2014, when generic drug prices increased by 10.2%, the Wall Street Journal's Ed Silverman reports.
- Three-fourths of the drugs that rose in cost this year rose by less than 10%.
Dive Insight:
Two reports from Sector & Sovereign Research and Pembroke Consulting confirm that generic drug prices are continuing to rise, but they also confirm that the rates of increase are slowing down.
A couple of important factors are will eventually help price increases slow down even more. One is the increased scrutiny of rising prices from payers and Congress, as well as DHHS plans to review price increased on the Medicaid drug rebate program.
In addition, the FDA is beginning to make progress in working through the backlog of ANDA submissions, which is close to 4,000 currently. Once new generics are improved and hit the pharmacies, a process of deflation or at least price stabilization can begin.