The median annual price of newly approved prescription drugs in the country has surpassed 250,000 dollars. As new drug development expands into areas such as rare diseases and cancer, the increase in high-cost medications is also escalating the burden on patients, employers, insurers, and taxpayers.
According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) by researchers at Harvard Medical School, the median annual list price set by pharmaceutical manufacturers for new drugs rose more than sixfold from approximately 39,000 dollars in 2008 to over 250,000 dollars in 2025. Researchers analyzed that the launch prices of new drugs increased at an average annual rate of about 16 percent during this period.
Dr. Benjamin Rome of Harvard Medical School, who led the study, stated that it is quite shocking that the average annual cost of new drugs launched today exceeds 250,000 dollars.
In particular, prices for cancer treatments are significantly higher. The launch price of Rasonque, a pancreatic cancer treatment approved this year, reaches approximately 480,000 dollars annually. According to the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), the annual prices of some cancer treatments launched since 2024 have also exceeded 400,000 dollars.
However, 250,000 dollars does not mean the actual amount patients pay at the pharmacy. This is the list price before insurance discounts or manufacturer rebates are applied. Actual patient out-of-pocket costs vary depending on the type of insurance, copay, deductible, and coinsurance. The pharmaceutical industry also counters that relying solely on list prices is an incomplete measure of actual medical cost burdens.
Nevertheless, patient advocacy groups argue that the phenomenon of new drug prices soaring into six-digit figures is unsustainable and are demanding active price negotiations from the government.
Notably, the upward trend in new drug launch prices has not changed significantly even after the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in 2022. While the IRA granted Medicare the authority to negotiate prices for certain prescription drugs for the first time and imposed penalties on pharmaceutical companies raising existing drug prices faster than inflation, the study analyzed that there was no meaningful change in the upward trend of new drug launch prices before and after the law’s implementation.
Choi In-sung Reporter ichoi@koreadaily.com
