Rx Drug Prices Up 2.2% In 3rd Qtr

Prescription drug prices rose 2.2% in third-quarter 1997, against 2.3%in the like 1996 quarter and 3.6% in third-quarter 1995, says First DataBank's quarterly drug price report. All major categories had minimal changes and most seemed to vary independently of each other, but each basically followed its own five-year, third-quarter trend, it says.

Single-source products were up 2.7%, the same average rise as in 1995; the 1996 rise was 2.6%. Their average price rises have changed little in the last five years, the report said. Multiple-source products rose 2.1% against 2.3% in 1996 and 3.8% in 1995, a record third-quarter low for the past five years. Branded products' prices rose 3.2%, against 2.6% in third-quarter 1996, and multiple-source generics were up 1.8%, compared with 2.2% in 1996.

Products from the top 25 drug firms had the highest average rise of all categories analyzed, up to 3.9% from 3.6% in 1996.