Prescription Drugs Introduced to Market
In 2025, prescription drugs introduced to the market with a WAC > $1,000 to $5,000 received 263 reports, the most for this category since reporting began in 2019.
HCAI regularly releases to the public information and data visualizations on new prescription drugs introduced to market in California with a Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC) that exceeds the Medicare Part D specialty drug cost threshold.
- Learn more about the Prescription Drug Cost Transparency Program
- View other Prescription Drug Cost Transparency Public Reports
New Prescription Drugs by Price
- Since reporting began in 2019, Prescription drugs introduced to the market with a WAC > $1,000 to $5,000 have consistently led the number of reports each year. The highest number recorded was in 2025, with a total of 263 reports.
- Since reporting began in 2019, prescription drugs introduced to the market with a WAC > $5,000 to $10,000 have consistently generated the lowest number of submitted reports. The lowest number of reports recorded were in 2019 and 2022 at 40 reports each.
Note: The tooltip contains a box and whisker plot of the respective WAC Price Category, where each dot represents a submitted report.
New Prescription Drugs by Quarter/Year
- The total number of reported prescription drugs introduced to the market grew by 20% from the previous year, increasing from 465 reports in 2024 to 559 reports in 2025.
- In 2025, prescription drugs introduced to the market with a WAC > $1,000 to $5,000 received 263 reports, the most for this category since reporting began in 2019.
Note: The tooltip contains a box and whisker plot for the respective quarter, where each dot represents a submitted report.
CTRx Term Definitions
Wholesale Acquisition Cost
Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC) is defined in the U.S. Code as “…the manufacturer’s list price for [a] drug or biological to wholesalers or direct purchasers in the United States, not including prompt pay or other discounts, rebates or reductions in price…”
National Drug Code (NDC)
The pharmaceuticals industry assigns a unique three-segment number, called the NDC, to each drug product manufactured and sold. NDCs must be provided to the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and are used for ordering, billing, inventory management, and recalls.
HCAI requires that relevant reporting uses the 11-digit format of the NDC. The three-segments of the format can be broken into the following:
The labeler code, also known as the manufacturer code, identifies who manufactures, repacks, or distributes a given drug product.
The product code identifies the drug, its strength, dosage form, and formulation specific to the firm that manufactures the given drug product.
The packaging code typically identifies the number of product units in the given product (package size), but also may indicate the type of packaging used.
How HCAI Created This Product
These visualizations were created using prescription drug data reported to HCAI by prescription drug manufacturers. For a detailed list of the new prescription drug data that HCAI collects, see the data format and file specifications.
Resources
Note:
- Not all new prescription drugs are required to be reported to HCAI – there are new prescription drugs that do not meet the statutory requirements for reporting, and new prescription drugs that do not meet the definition for reporting pursuant to HCAI Regulations and Section 321(g) of Title 21 of the United States Code.
- Some prescription drug manufacturers choose to report new prescription drugs that are introduced to market with a WAC that does not explicitly exceed the specified threshold, but that may exceed the pricing threshold when accounting for the combined price of a standard course of therapy.
- Data from reports submitted after April 17, 2026, is not represented in the visualizations.
Additional Information
Topic: Cost Transparency
Source Link: Prescription Drugs Introduced to Market
Citation: HCAI – Prescription Drug Cost Transparency, New Drug 2019–2025
Temporal Coverage: 2019 – 2025
Spatial/Geographic Coverage: Statewide
Frequency: Annually