Report: U.S. drug prices far exceed average for 11 similar countries

U.S. drug prices are nearly four times higher than the combined average price for 11 other similar countries, according to a report released today by the House Ways and Means Committee. Committee staff analyzed 2018 pricing data for 79 drugs sold in the U.S., United Kingdom, Japan, Canada (Ontario), Australia, Portugal, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland. “With one exception, we found that individual drug prices in the U.S. ranged from 70% (Lantus Solostar – a type of insulin) to 4,833% (Dulera – a prescription asthma medication) higher than the combined mean price in the other 11 countries,” the report states. “Compared to individual countries, drug prices in the U.S. ranged from 0.6 to 67 times the price for the same drugs.”