If you’re at all concerned about how Big Pharma is faring financially – don’t worry. Third-quarter earnings reports show that pharmaceutical companies continue to see record profits while prescription drug prices keep rising.
The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing (CSRxP) recently summarized third-quarter earnings and found that drug giant AbbVie announced better than expected earnings, rounding out a trend set by all 12 of the world’s largest brand name drug makers that have raised prices.
- AbbVie reported revenue of $8.48 billion, beating Wall Street expectations.
- The company lifted its profit forecast this quarter thanks to strong demand for cancer drug Imbruvica.
- Arthritis drug Humira brought in $4.9 billion for the company.
- Over the past year, AbbVie has beat estimates three times.
CSRxP also detailed AbbVie’s earlier price increases:
- This year alone, AbbVie has raisedprices 48 times.
- AbbVie’s Humira is the world’s top-selling drug by sales. The company has hikedits price by an average of 6.2 percent this year. Last year, sales topped $20 billion – more than the entire National Football League (NFL) made last season. Between 2012 and 2018, the price of Humira has increased nearly 100 percent from $19,000 to $38,000.
- An analysis from the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) showed that AbbVie increasedthe price of its best-selling rheumatoid arthritis drug Humira by 15.9 percent from 2017 to 2018 with no evidence the drug was improved.
- AbbVie announcedmore price hikes in July 2019.
Have you seen your prescription drug prices increase this year? Share your voice.