The median annual launch price of newly approved prescription drugs in the US fell to $216,000 in 2025, down from more than $370,000 in 2024 and over $300,000 in 2023, according to an analysis by health data firm 46brooklyn Research. The decline was largely attributed to fewer high-cost cell and gene therapies entering the market rather than a shift in pharmaceutical pricing strategies. The US FDA approved 51 new drugs in 2025, including five cell and gene therapies, compared with seven such therapies in both 2023 and 2024.
More than two-thirds of the new approvals were small-molecule drugs, which typically have lower launch prices than biologic medicines. Around one-third of the approvals were cancer therapies, while more than half were orphan drugs developed for rare diseases. Although the median launch price declined, the average annual launch price remained high at $416,000,…
