Study: Cost of prescription skin drugs is soaring

A new study finds that the prices of dermatology medications rose by an average of 401 percent between 2009 and 2015, with most of the increase occurring after 2011.

by Stacey Burling

Published Nov. 25, 2015, 11:07 a.m. ET

This probably won't come as a surprise to people with skin problems: A new study finds that the prices of dermatology medications rose by an average of 401 percent between 2009 and 2015, with most of the increase occurring after 2011. The prices of topical cancer drugs rose the most, an average of 1240 percent.
During this time period, the national consumer price index inflation rate was 11 percent.
The study was published Wednesday in JAMA Dermatology. It was written by Steven P. Rosenberg of the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami and Miranda E. Rosenberg, B.A., of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. They surveyed Costco, CVS, Sam's Club and Walgreen's pharmacies in around West Palm Beach, Fla., 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2015.
The authors pointed out that many insurance plans leave patients with little protection against expensive drugs.
Two drugs that rose by nearly 1,700 percent were Carac cream for actinic keratosis and Targretin gel, a cancer drug. The price of Oracea, a rosacea drug, rose the least: 60 percent. It's still not cheap. Thirty tablets cost $702 this year.