With the consolidation in the drug industry rendering fewer companies to manufacture niche products, prices on a growing number of prescription medications have widened in the recent years.

Congressional investigators revealed that the number of extraordinary price hikes on drugs doubled between 2000 and 2008. The affected drugs mainly include special medications along with some popular products such as Bayer's antibiotic Cipro and the Eli Lilly schizophrenia treatment Zyprexa.

The GAO cites more than 400 examples of unusual price jumps on brand-name drugs during the eight-year period, with many ranging from 100 percent to 499 percent. However, several exceeded 1,000 percent.

It is majorly speculated that drug manufacturers are hiking prices in anticipation of health care reform legislation that could curb drug costs.

However, it is also the credit card companies' raising fees prior to the legislation protecting credit card borrowers going into effect.

The Government Accountability Office report issued this past week held industry consolidation as the culprit.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America claimed that the drugs cited by the GAO represent a fraction of the overall pharmaceutical market.