On its annual list of price hike offenders, ICER calls out Bausch's Xifaxan, J&J's Invega

In the pharma world, it’s the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) that decides which companies should get a lump of coal in their stockings.

ICER renders judgment by way of its annual report on unsupported price increases (UPIs). The independent, nonprofit research institute breaks down which companies jacked up prices of drugs without evidence of any new clinical benefit. ICER then ranks the drugs by how much the increases drove additional spending in the U.S.

The winner this year is Bausch’s irritable bowel syndrome blockbuster Xifaxan. The company hiked its net price from 2020 to 2021 by 12%, resulting in an increase in spending of $175 million.