Recent complaints of high drug prices are putting a strain on pharmaceutical companies to disclose the development costs and their rationale for the high charges, according to The New York Times.
At least six state legislatures have introduced pharmaceutical cost transparency bills, which aim to make drug companies validate their prices. These high prices are often credited to high research and development costs.
"There is no relief in sight because drug companies keep challenging the market with even higher prices," wrote doctors in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings. "This raises the question on whether current pricing of cancer drugs is based on reasonable expectation of return on investment or whether it is based on what the market can bear."
Pressure on pharmaceutical companies is coming from other sources as well, including the top Republican and Democrat on the United States Senate Finance Committee last year, the U.A.W. Retiree Medical Benefits Trust and even former President Bill Clinton.
California, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon and Pennsylvania have introduced cost transparency bills, but most of them have not been acted upon. Hearings were held in California and Oregon, but the bill didn't pass in either state.
Drug companies are currently required to report payments they make to doctors for research, consulting and giving promotional speeches. They also have to reveal results of their clinical trials.
Although detailed explanations of prices have not been revealed, pharmaceutical executives have said they price the drugs based on the value they provide.