Ongoing drug shortages are repeatedly blamed for contributing to rising prices, but a new analysis suggested that prices rose not only substantially, but twice as fast, for medicines that were in short supply than if there were no shortages for those treatments.
Specifically, in the 11 months after a shortage began, the expected price increase for all drugs in short supply was, on average, 20 percent compared with a 9 percent average price hike in the absence of a shortage, according to the analysis in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
The findings come amid ongoing shortages blamed on drug makers that failed to build enough production capacity, maintain equipment, or ward off contamination in aging plants. At the same time, there is concern some manufacturers are manipulating production to bolster profits.
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