Rising Drug Prices Followed Withdrawal of Vioxx

A report in Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs, June 2005 revealed that the prices of many prescription pain medications rose significantly following the withdrawal of arthritis drug Vioxx from the market last September.

• 36 pain medications increased in price (some as much as 15%)
• 17 pain medications dropped in price
• 10 pain medications stayed the same

For example, the average price for Mobic 15 mg. rose 10.6% from September 2004 to March 2005. The number of prescriptions written for Mobic more than doubled during the same period - 314,000 in September 2004 to 742,000 in March 2005. What was the trend for other arthritis pain medications? Read the full report.

Related Resources:

• Arthritis Medications
• Arthritis Drugs: What are My Options?
• How to Lower Your Prescription Drug Costs