Year-by-Year Drug Pricing: What’s Really Changing and Why It Matters

When you hear year-by-year drug pricing, the trend in how prescription medication costs rise or fall over time, often tied to patent laws, market competition, and regulatory changes. Also known as pharmaceutical price trends, it’s not just about what’s on the sticker—it’s about who controls the rules. Over the last decade, some drugs have jumped in price by 500%, while others barely budged. Why? It’s not random. It’s built into how patents work, how the FDA approves drugs, and who gets to decide when generics can enter the market.

Take patent term restoration, a legal loophole that lets drugmakers extend their monopoly after losing time during FDA review. Also known as PTE, this rule was meant to reward innovation, but it’s become a tool to delay cheaper versions. A drug might get 20 years of patent protection, but if it took six years to get FDA approval, the company can add those six years back. That means you’re paying brand-name prices for longer. And when that happens year after year, it stacks up—especially for chronic conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure, where people need the same drug for decades.

Then there’s the FDA drug approval, the process that determines when a new drug can legally be sold in the U.S.. Also known as NDA review, it’s slow, expensive, and often favors big companies with deep pockets. Smaller drugmakers can’t afford the paperwork or clinical trials. That means fewer competitors, less pressure to lower prices, and more room for big increases. You’ll see this pattern in posts about diabetes meds like empagliflozin or blood pressure drugs like nifedipine—when there’s only one or two makers, prices don’t drop.

It’s not just about patents and approvals. It’s about what happens after. When a drug’s patent expires, you’d think prices would crash. But sometimes they don’t. Why? Because the next version—maybe a slightly different pill, a new delivery system, or a combo pack—gets its own patent. This is called “evergreening.” It’s legal. It’s common. And it keeps you paying more, even when the original formula is old.

Some of the most revealing posts in this collection show exactly how this plays out: how clozapine’s REMS rules changed in 2025 to affect access, how vitamin D and diuretics can cause dangerous interactions, how codeine can kill people with certain genes. These aren’t just side effects or safety tips—they’re pieces of the same puzzle. The system that controls pricing also controls who gets access, who gets monitored, and who gets left behind.

What you’ll find here isn’t theory. It’s real data from real patients and real drugs. You’ll see how a single patent extension can mean thousands in extra costs over a lifetime. You’ll see how a change in FDA policy can open doors—or slam them shut. And you’ll see why some medications stay expensive even when they’ve been around for 30 years. This isn’t about blaming companies. It’s about understanding how the rules are written, who benefits, and what you can do with that knowledge.