After this decision, spending on drugs amounted to 1.6 billion dollars in the country, according to an investigation by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), based in Boston.
Widely used drug for relieving rheumatoid arthritis, Humira, by AbbVie company, accounted for nearly all the increase in spending, with an Internet value jump of 9.6 percent.
A group of ICER experts stated in a report that several of these treatments have been on the market for a long time, with little evidence that they are more effective now than they were years ago, when they used to cost much less.
Medical director of the institution, David Rind, clarified that the most radical increase is the case of Humira, which price in the United States does not seem to stop from increasing while it tends to decrease in other countries where it faces competition from bio-drugs of its kind.
AbbVie stated that the report lacks a context as ICER does not conduct comprehensive evaluations or take into account tests applied to smaller populations of people using the drug.
The analysis came to light as President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress try to push for lower prices in the pharmaceutical industry.
The administration is trying to pull a legislation that allows federal authorities to barter drug funds for Medicare, which benefits people from 65 years of age and older.
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