Why Are US Drugs 344% More Expensive?

A recent study from the RAND Corporation comparing generic and brand-name drug prices in the US to those in other OECD countries found shocking results. While generic drug prices in the US are lower than in a number of other countries, brand name drugs were 344% more expensive.

“As debate intensifies over the cost of medicines, a new analysis found that prescription drug prices were on average 2.5 times more expensive in the U.S. than in 32 other countries. And that gap widened to 3.4 times costlier when looking specifically at brand-name medications.” Read more here.

(Sources: Tara Bannow, Modern Healthcare, 1/28/21; Ed Silverman, STAT News, 1/28/21; Janel Miller, Helio, 1/28/21)