The first half of 2021 has seen more brand-name drug list price increases than all of 2020, according to an analysis by 46Brooklyn, a nonprofit drug research firm. The increases reverse the downward trend in brand name drug price increase frequency that's been observed over the last decade, 46Brooklyn reported. Through July 10, there were 78 list price increases of brand-name drugs, a number nearly equal to the full amount of July price increases occurring in the last three years. But despite 2021 having more list price increases than 2020, there is no change in the weighted average brand name drug price increase. This suggests that though increases are happening more frequently than last year, the size of the increases is comparable to those over the last several years, 46Brooklyn reported. The price increases in July 2021 have a modest weighted average increase of 2 percent, representing about $1.3 billion in prior year Medicaid expenditures. Net prices have been declining despite list price increases, according to 46Brooklyn. For more on this, check out the Gross-to-Net Bubble update. Below are ten definitions, related to prescription drug prices, all purchasers of PBM services should know.Acquisition Cost is defined as the invoice price to the pharmacy for a prescription drug dispensed to a patient, minus the amount of all discounts and other cost reductions attributable to such dispensed drug.Average Manufacturer Price (AMP) is the average price paid to the manufacturer for the drug in the United States by wholesalers for drugs distributed to retail community pharmacies and by retail community pharmacies that purchase drugs directly from the manufacturer. The health reform law excludes payments and rebates or discounts provided to certain providers and payers from the calculation of AMP. Average Sales Price (ASP) is a manufacturer’s unit sales of a drug to all purchasers in the United States in a calendar quarter divided by the total number of drug units sold by the manufacturer in that same quarter. The ASP is net of any price concessions such as volume, prompt pay, and cash discounts; free goods contingent on purchase requirements; chargebacks; and rebates other than those obtained through the Medicaid drug rebate program. Certain sales are exempt from the calculation of ASP, including sales at a nominal charge.Average Wholesale Price (AWP) is not based on actual transactional, marketplace price data. Despite its name and its sometime use as a price index, the published AWP is not an average of actual wholesale prices. It is not intended to represent, and cannot be assumed to reflect, actual transaction prices. A wholesaler or other direct purchaser from a pharmaceutical manufacturer may agree to sell its products to one or more of its customers at prices that on their face are effectively lower than the published AWP. AWP information does not reflect any such lower pricing that may be made available in actual purchase transactions through a variety of methods, including, but not limited to, purchase, prompt-pay or other discounts, volume or other rebates or credits, or a variety of other price…