Inside STAT: Makers of top-selling drugs hike prices in lockstep, and patients bear the cost

ANNA LEGASSIE, WHO WAS DIAGNOSED WITH SYSTEMIC ARTHRITIS AS A CHILD, AT HER HOME IN BOSTON. (KAYANA SZYMCZAK FOR STAT)

In January 2013, AbbVie hiked the price of Humira, its blockbuster biologic drug for arthritis and related conditions, by nearly 7 percent. A day later, Amgen issued an identical increase for Enbrel, a biologic used to treat similar patients. A STAT analysis of pricing data finds that pattern repeated 10 more times between 2014 and early 2018 — each time, the prices jumping by nearly the same amount, often within days of one another. The rapid run-up reflects how much power the companies hold in a market where patients like Anna Legassie, pictured above, suffer from autoimmune diseases that can make everyday activities an ordeal. STAT found that the extraordinary tactics used to preserve the exclusivity of the drugs in the U.S. has undermined patient care. STAT’s Casey Ross has the story here.