A new PricewaterhouseCoopers report on medical cost trends highlights how specialty drugs are outpacing traditional drugs in a major way.
Take the revenue projections for the top seven specialty drugs – sales for Abbvie’s Viekira Pak for Hepatitis C are expected to reach $3 billion; cystic fibrosis is supposed to hit $2 billion. The profitability from specialty drugs come from their niche status – there just isn’t competition, and drug companies have caught on strong.
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This is a real concern in terms of controlling overall medical costs, the report says.
That new class of cholesterol-controlling drugs – the PCSK9 inhibitors – could cost the health system up to $1.5 billion annually. And since these are drugs meant to be used by patients unto perpetuity, the cost of PCSK9 inhibitors could surpass even the Hepatitis C spend.
“After these cholesterol therapies hit the market, other specialty drugs will follow with treatments for cancer, rheumatic diseases and hematology,” the report says. “Even some generic drugs are fetching higher prices.
“The price of these therapies can have a major effect on year-over-year costs and impact overall medical inflation.”
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A recent Express Scripts report found that, nationally, the prescription drug spend per person rose 13.1 percent to $980 per person. Specialty drugs contributed $310 to that – and with the rise of precision medicine, these costs are expected to skyrocket.
There are about 700 specialty drugs in development now, the report says.
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