Insurance tactic drags down U.S. drug prices in second quarter: analyst

Real U.S. drug prices, which includes discounts and rebates drugmakers provide to insurers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), fell 5.8 percent in the quarter, compared with a 0.7 percent increase a year earlier, SSR analyst Richard Evans said in a research note on Tuesday.Lower "real" drug prices means drugmakers are receiving less revenue on sales, but does not necessarily translate into savings for patients as employers and payers are more likely to reap the benefit.Evans believes "copay ac