A lawsuit filed April 25 against AbbVie alleges the company engaged in a "fraudulent scheme" to hike prices by 470 percent of its most profitable drug, Humira.
The federal lawsuit filed in the Northern District of Illinois claims the drugmaker "repeatedly raised the publicly listed price paid by consumers, while offering pharmacy benefit managers lower, undisclosed net prices," and then pocketed the difference. AbbVie faces 38 counts of fraud-related claims across various states, according to the filing.
Since the drug hit the market in 2003, the repeated price hikes have added up to what now, in 2023, totals around $72,000 per year, the lawsuit claims, which "defies state laws prohibiting unfair and unreasonable prices," and hurts consumers since "many Humira patients simply can’t afford it."
In its 20 years on the market, Humira has had 27 price hikes, according to the press release from the filing law firm Hagens Berman. On top of that, in 2020, Humira reportedly allowed AbbVie to earn $16 billion in revenue.
Becker's reached out to AbbVie for comment. This story will be updated if more information becomes available.