Committee releases more reports on high-cost drugs

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform this week concluded a two-day hearing examining pricing practices for some of the nation’s costliest drugs.

As part of the hearing, Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., yesterday released additional staff reports describing repeated actions by drug companies to raise the price of certain drugs. According to one report, Amgen raised the price for a 50 mg dose of the rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel 457% since acquiring the drug in 2002 and more than tripled the cost of an annual course of the cancer and kidney failure treatment Sensipar.

Another report highlights how Novartis raised the price for a yearly course of the cancer drug Gleevec 395% since 2003 to $123,000, and a third report how Mallinckrodt acquired a drug to treat a rare infant seizure disorder in 2014, raising the price of the drug by 26% to more than $8,200 per vial.