New Federal Report Sees Major Hikes in Rx Drug Prices

The sale price on more than 400 brand-name pharmaceutical drug products increased at "extraordinary" rates of 100% or more between 2000 and 2008, according to a study the Government Accountability Office released yesterday.  The study found that in 2000, 28 brand-name drugs had price increases of 100% or more, and by 2008, the costs of 71 drugs had risen at a similar rate.

• "GAO Says Drug Prices on Select Medications Have Ballooned as Industry Shrinks" (Perrone, AP/Baltimore Sun, 1/11).