Despite striking voluntary deals with the Trump administration aimed at lowering consumer costs, all 16 major pharmaceutical companies involved immediately rolled out price hikes this January. This is a truly awful look for the administration’s negotiation strategy, especially considering the deals were announced with major fanfare starting back in September.
The trend of price hikes typically hits in January, but these specific increases make the administration’s “most favored nation” agreements look utterly ineffective. According to a new analysis by 46brooklyn, a nonprofit that tracks prescription drug list prices, drug companies raised the prices on 872 brand-name drugs in just the first two weeks of 2026. The median increase came in at 4%, which, shockingly, is exactly the same increase we saw last year, suggesting the deals had no practical effect on the market overall.
