Drugmakers modestly raise price on drugs at start of year, WSJ reports

Drugmakers raised the prices of more than 800 prescription drugs for blood pressure, cancer, and other conditions by 4% at the beginning of the year, Jared Hopkins of The Wall Street Journal reports. The modest annual increases could help companies avoid criticisms of gouging from President Trump while hoping his administration will support priorities such as taking aim at the rebates given to middlemen and altering a federal program providing discounts to some hospitals. Companies whose prices rose on brand-name medicines include Pfizer (PFE), Novartis (NVS), and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY).