STAT+: Launch prices for new medicines dipped slightly last year but remain high, analysis finds — SkimNews
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- Institute for Clinical and Economic Review and West Health analyzed 202 medicines launched in 2025, finding that the median net price adjusted for inflation and manufacturer discounts rose 35% to $257,000 from $173,000 in 2022.
- One in four 2025 launches carried an annual net price exceeding $500,000.
- Another 34% of 2025 launches had annual net prices between $200,000 and $500,000.
- Median list price for the analyzed medicines rose 24% after inflation adjustment, reaching $293,000, while remaining above the corresponding net-price median.
- The analysis did not explain the divergence between list and net prices; the reported pattern indicates that manufacturer discount levels vary by drug type.
Why it matters: West Health's push for lower healthcare costs must contend with a $257,000 median net price after discounts, not merely the $293,000 list figure; because discount variation across drug types was not analyzed, list prices alone leave launch costs only partly described.
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