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# New Drug Launch Prices This Year Jump 43%: Analysis
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/new-drug-launch-prices-this-year-jump-43-analysis/
- Published: 2022-08-15T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-14T17:55:51.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5152504

While the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act authorizes Medicare to negotiate the prices of 10 high-cost drugs in 2026 and 10 more in 2029, a new analysis finds that drugs launched so far this year have a median annual cost of $257,000 — a 43% increase above the annual cost of drugs launched through mid-July last year ($180,000). The Reuters’ [analysis](https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/newly-launched-us-drugs-head-toward-record-high-prices-2022-2022-08-15/?taid=62fa58758127410001ae80fc&utm%5Fcampaign=trueanthem&utm%5Fmedium=trueanthem&utm%5Fsource=twitter) also finds that some drug manufacturers are disclosing less pricing information, presumably because there is currently more scrutiny and criticism about pricing issues than in the past few years.

The analysis cited a *JAMA*\-published study on drug prices that showed between 2008 and 2021, U.S. drug launch prices grew 20% annually. The *JAMA* study also factored in volume-based rebates and other discounts that health insurers negotiate with drugmakers, which showed prices for new drugs rose by 11% in previous years. Reuters says it did not look at the rebates and other discount in its analysis because these are not made public.

The industry defends its pricing by noting that some of the new therapies may only cost a fraction for patients due to insurance coverage and medication assistance programs. They also say that prices for new drugs, many of which now treat rare diseases for which there are no therapies, reflect their value to patients, including the ability to reduce expensive emergency room visits and hospital stays, according to Reuters.