Pfizer raises prices on 100 drugs—again—despite backlash from public, lawmakers

Enlarge / Pfizer's little, blue Viagra tablets get big price tag that have people seeing red. (credit: Getty | Bloomberg)

Despite public and political pressure, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer keeps raising the prices of its drugs-standing apart from some of its rivals who have vowed to rein in periodic price hiking.

Around 100 of Pfizer's drugs got higher list prices this week, the Financial Times first reported. The affected drugs include big sellers, such as Lyrica pain capsules, Chantix smoking-cessation medication, Norvasc blood-pressure pills, and the lung-cancer treatment Xalkori.

The price hikes mark a second round of increases for Pfizer this year. While many of the price changes in the individual rounds hover at or under 10 percent-many at 9.4 percent-the hikes collectively boost many drugs' prices by double-digit percentages for the year overall. For instance, Chantix's price jumped nearly 17 percent this year; Pfizer gave it a 9.4 percent increase in January and another seven percent boost July 1, bringing the list price of a 56-tablet bottle to $429, the Wall Street Journal noted. Likewise, Pfizer's erectile dysfunction drug Viagra saw a 9.4 percent increase July 1 after a similar hike in January. Those hikes bring the list price of a month's supply to $2,211.

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