Drug prices continue to climb despite barrage of criticism

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A pharmacy technician fills a prescription inside a Wal-Mart store in Trevose, Pa.

Drug prices are still climbing despite calls to lower them, Axios reports.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly chastised the pharmaceutical industry, even accusing them of “getting away with murder.” But since he took office, drugmakers have hiked list prices on hundreds of drugs at rates that outpace inflation, according to Axios, citing an analysis from Pharmacy Benefit Consultants.

List prices are the amount manufacturers set and don’t include rebates and discounts. Patients with insurance don’t pay these prices, though people who are uninsured may.

Within the 14-month period, 39 drugs were hiked more than 100 percent, though most of them aren’t commonly used, Axios notes. The largest spike was 1,468 percent for SynerDerm, a skin cream that helps keep a moist wound and skin environment to help with healing.

More commonly used medications also saw increases, though not quite as high as some of the rare drugs. AbbVie hiked the price of Humira, the best-selling prescription in the world, 19 percent over the 14-month period. Humira treats certain types of arthritis, Crohn’s disease and other ailments.

Read the full Axios report here