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Surge In Rx Drug Prices Could Backfire Politcally

Under pressure to preserve revenue as new-drug pipelines dry up and as brand-name drugs that are no longer under patent protection lose market share to generic equivalents, marketers of the top 50 branded prescription drugs raised prices 7.8% in 2007. The rise almost doubled the overall economy's 4.1% annual inflation rate.

Some individual drugs have had double-digit price increases over three years. GlaxoSmithKline raised the price of antidepressant Wellbutrin XL by 44.5% from 2005 to 2007. Sanofi-Aventis raised the price of sleep drug Ambien 70.1%. Shire increased the price of its attention-deficit disorder medication, Adderall XR, by 33.5%.
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Drug makers are trying to keep revenues afloat by raising prices ahead of the possibility of changing government regulations. But aggressive price increases could backfire politically, pushing policies toward greater government power over price negotiations. The pharmaceutical industry is already a target of criticism in the presidential campaign, even among its traditional Republican allies.

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Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal »

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