NACDS Reports Price Increases Of 4.1%

The rate of annual price increase for products in the top 500 prescription drugs sold in community retail pharmacies in the USA in 1994 was 4.1%, according to the National Associations of Chain Drug Stores' quarterly Prime Index, which measures changes in manufacturers' prices. This rise continues a trend for each quarter, it added.

More products in the top 500 group had price changes in the second and third quarters of 1994 than in the same period in 1993. The percentage of products in the top 500 having price increases in last year's third quarter was 18%, compared to 12.6% for the same quarter in 1993. 20% of all products in the second quarter rose compared to 12.5% for the same period in 1993. Average price increases bottomed in the first quarter of 1994 with the second quarter averaging 4.6% and the third 5.1%.

The compilation is done by the University of Minnesota's Prime Institute for NACDS. The index tracks the number and level of price changes of the top 500 prescription drugs, compared to the Consumer Price Index for prescription drugs, which traces changes in prices between manufacturers' prices and all prescription drug purchasers.