Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) has put up the prices of some 20 drugs according to a survey by UBS healthcare analyst Marc Goodman. He noted that since the start of the year, pharmaceutical companies in the US have hiked the prices of some 500 drugs. It seems that the issue of bloated US drug prices, which was to the fore in the 2016 Presidential elections, has now faded.
Perhaps more important than the 20 drugs that Teva raised the prices of was the fact the price of multiple sclerosis treatment Copaxone was not raised now that it faces generic competition from Mylan N.V. (Nasdaq: MYL; TASE: MYL). Last January, Teva increased the price of Copaxone by 7.9% and the US Congress recently presented data to show that the price had risen 1,002% since its launch in 1996. The price of the 40mg dosage rose 26% since its introduction in 2014.
The price increases of the drugs that Teva did raise ranged between 2.3% and 9.4%. The price of Amrix for the treatment of muscle pains was raised 9.4% and the price of Teva's branded Parkinson's treatment Azilect was raised 3%, after being increased by 9.4% last year and by 9.9% in 2016.
In the respiratory pharmaceutical sector, Teva has raised the price of Qnasl by 8%, Qvar by 9%, and AirDuo RespiClick by 8%. In the oncological sector, the price of Treanda was raised by 6% and Synribo by 4.5%.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 9, 2018
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