Drugmakers including Bristol-Myers Squibb, Gilead Sciences, and Biogen hiked US list prices on more than 250 drugs on Wednesday.

Some of the drugs that will be more expensive include the blood thinner Eliquis, the HIV treatment Truvada, and the multiple-sclerosis treatment Tecfidera.

Soaring US prescription-drug prices are expected to again be a central issue in the presidential election.

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NEW YORK — Drugmakers including Bristol-Myers Squibb, Gilead Sciences, and Biogen hiked US list prices on more than 50 drugs on Wednesday, bringing total New Year's Day drug-price increases to more than 250, according to data analyzed by the healthcare research firm 3 Axis Advisors.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that drugmakers including Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline, and Sanofi SA were planning to increase prices on more than 200 drugs in the United States on January 1.

Nearly all of the price increases are below 10%, and the median price increase is about 5%, according to 3 Axis.

More early-year price increases could still be announced.

Soaring US prescription drug prices are expected to again be a central issue in the presidential election. President Donald Trump, who made bringing them down a core pledge of his 2016 campaign, is running for reelection in 2020.

Many branded drugmakers have pledged to keep their US list-price increases below 10% a year, under pressure from politicians and patients.

The United States, which leaves drug pricing to market competition, has higher prices than in other countries where governments directly or indirectly control the costs, making it the world's most lucrative market for manufacturers.

Drugmakers often negotiate rebates on their list prices in exchange for favorable treatment from healthcare payers. As a result, health insurers and patients rarely pay the full list price of a drug.

Bristol-Myers said in a statement it would not raise list prices on its drugs by more than 6% this year.

The drugmaker raised the price on 10 drugs on Wednesday, including 1.5% price hikes on the cancer-immunotherapies Opdivo and Yervoy and a 6% increase on its blood thinner Eliquis, all of which bring in billions of dollars in revenue annually.

It also raised the price on Celgene's flagship multiple-myeloma drug, Revlimid, by 6%. Bristol acquired its rival Celgene in a $74 billion deal last year.

Gilead raised prices on more than 15 drugs including the HIV treatments Biktarvy and Truvada less than 5%, according to 3 Axis.

Biogen price increases included a 6% price hike on the multiple-sclerosis treatment Tecfidera, according to 3 Axis.

Gilead and Biogen could not be immediately reached for comment.

3 Axis advises pharmacy industry groups on identifying inefficiencies in the US drug supply chain and has provided consulting work to hedge fund billionaire John Arnold, a prominent critic of high drug prices.