Dozens of prescription painkillers are up to 15 percent more costly since last year’s withdrawal of Vioxx, according to a report from Consumers Union.
The Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs report says price increases were seen among 36 pain drugs, along with growth in prescribing volume among NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). Among them, prices for prescription strength Motrin, from Johnson & Johnson’s McNeil-PPC, climbed 13.3 percent and Boehringer Ingelheim’s Mobic, marketed in the U.S. by Abbott, jumped 10.6 percent.
Based on data from NDCHealth, the report also says 17 drugs dropped in price, and 10 remained flat.OTC medicines were not included. Merck pulled Vioxx in September after studies linked the COX-2 drug to heart problems.
