By Michael Erman
NEW YORK, Dec 31 (Reuters) – Drugmakers plan to raise U.S. prices on at least 350 branded drugs, including vaccines against Covid, RSV and dental and blockbuster cancer treatment Ibrance, despite pressure from the Trump administration to cut them, according to data provided exclusively by healthcare research firm 3A.
The number of price increases for 2026 is up from the same point last year, when drugmakers unveiled plans to increase more than 250 drugs. The average price increase this year is 4% – compared to 2025.
The increases do not reflect any discounts on pharmacy benefit managers and other discounts.
Drugmakers also cut some prices
Drug makers also plan to reduce the list prices of about nine drugs. This includes cuts of more than 40% for Boehringer Ingelheim’s diabetes drug Jardiance and three related treatments.
Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly, which together sell Jardiance, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reason for the price cut.
Jardiance is among 10 drugs the US government has negotiated lower prices for the Medicare program for people 65 and older in 2026. Under those negotiations, Boehringer and Lilly cut Jardiance’s price by two-thirds.
American patients still pay the most for prescription drugs, often nearly three times more than in other developed nations, and Trump is pressuring drugmakers to lower prices paid by patients in similarly wealthy nations.
For the government Medicaid program for low-income Americans and cash payers, Trump has reached an agreement with 14 drugmakers on the prices of some of their drugs, but the increase has increased to 350 drugs. Pfizer, Sanofi, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis and GSK are among the companies that also plan to raise prices on some drugs on January 1.
“These deals are being heralded as transformative when, in fact, they actually turn around the margins in terms of driving really high prices for prescription drugs in America,” said Dr. Benjamin Rome, a health policy researcher at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Rome said companies appear to be maximizing prices when they negotiate behind-the-scenes discounts with health and drug insurers and then set another price for direct-to-consumer cash-payment sales.
An HHS spokesman declined to comment.
Keeping up with inflation
Pfizer announced the biggest list price hikes on 80 different drugs administered in hospitals, including cancer drug Ibrance, migraine pill Nurtec, and COVID treatment Paxlovid, as well as morphine and hydromorphone.
Most of Pfizer’s increases are less than 10%, with the exception of a 15% increase for the covid vaccine Comirnaty, while some of its relatively inexpensive hospital drugs saw increases of more than four times.
Pfizer said in a statement that it has adjusted the average list price of its innovative drugs and vaccines for 2026 below the overall rate of inflation.
“The modest growth is necessary to support investments that allow us to continue to discover and deliver new medicines, as well as to address increased costs in our business,” the company said.
Big US drug price hikes were once very common. Drugmakers have scaled back because of criticism from lawmakers and new government policies, such as penalizing companies that charge Medicare program prices that rise faster than inflation.
European drugmaker GSK plans to raise the price of 20 drugs and vaccines by 2% to 8.9%. The drugmaker said it is committed to fair pricing and that growth is necessary to support scientific innovation.
Sanofi and Novartis did not respond to requests for comment.
More price hikes and cuts can be expected in early January, which is historically the biggest month for drugmakers to raise prices.
3 Axis is a consulting firm that works with pharmacist groups, health plans and some pharmaceutical industry-related groups on drug pricing and supply chain issues. It is an entity affiliated with the drug pricing non-profit 46brooklyn, and shares employees.
(Reporting by Michael Erman; Editing by Carolyn Hummer)
