Color us surprised: Americans are expected to see price hikes on around 350 medications in 2026, despite ongoing pressure by the Trump administration for drugmakers to lower prices. According to a report by health research firm 3 Axis Advisors, obtained exclusively by Reuters, the total is up from the same time last year, when companies announced increases on more than 250 drugs. The median price hike will be around 4%, in line with 2025.
Which Drugs Are Seeing a Price Hike
Pfizer leads the pack, with price increases planned for around 80 drugs, including COVID-19 vaccines and breast cancer treatments.
“The modest increase is necessary to support investments that allow us to continue to discover and deliver new medicines, as well as address increased costs throughout our business,” Pfizer said in a statement obtained by Reuters.
According to Newsweek, here are some of the medications expected to see price increases this year:
- Paxlovid — COVID-19 antiviral (Pfizer)
- Comirnaty — COVID-19 vaccine, with a 15% price increase (Pfizer)
- Ibrance — breast cancer treatment (Pfizer)
- Nurtec — migraine medication (Pfizer)
- Morphine — opioid pain medication
- Hydromorphone — opioid pain medication
- Several GSK vaccines — including shingles and respiratory vaccines (GSK)
- Select products from pharmaceutical companies Sanofi and Novartis
Will There Be Price Cuts for Any Medications?
Americans pay roughly 2.8 times more for prescription drugs than patients in other developed nations. U.S. President Donald Trump has sought to address that gap by pressing pharmaceutical companies to lower prices under his “most favored nation” pricing policy.
In mid-December, the White House announced deals with nine drugmakers — Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Genentech, Gilead Sciences, GSK, Merck, Novartis, and Sanofi — to lower the prices of select prescription medications, including diabetes drugs, asthma inhalers, and multiple sclerosis treatments. Under the agreements, companies agreed to lower prices on most drugs sold through Medicaid, the government health program for low-income Americans, and to offer steep discounts on select medications to uninsured or cash-paying patients through a direct-to-consumer platform called TrumpRx.
However, the impact may be limited for much of the U.S. market. Medicaid accounts for roughly 10% of total U.S. prescription drug spending and already receives some of the deepest statutory discounts in the system, often exceeding 80% off list prices. Most Americans receive coverage through employer-sponsored or commercial insurance plans, where prices are still tied to list prices and negotiated rebates.
Which Medications Will See Cuts?
According to a White House fact sheet, these are some of the medications with lower prices for patients purchasing directly through TrumpRx:
- Repatha — cholesterol-lowering drug (Amgen), from $573 to $239
- Reyataz — HIV medication (Bristol Myers Squibb), from $1,449 to $217
- Jentadueto — type 2 diabetes medication (Boehringer Ingelheim), from $525 to $55
- Xofluza — flu antiviral (Genentech), from $168 to $50
- Epclusa — hepatitis C treatment (Gilead Sciences), from $24,920 to $2,425
- Advair Diskus 500/50 — asthma inhaler (GSK), from $265 to $89
- Januvia — type 2 diabetes medication (Merck), from $330 to $100
- Mayzent — multiple sclerosis treatment (Novartis), from $9,987 to $1,137
- Plavix — blood thinner (Sanofi), from $756 to $16
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