Spending on specialty drugs — a category that includes many biotech treatments for chronic conditions — increased 17.5% in 2005, while spending on traditional medications increased 10%, according to a study released on Wednesday by Express Scripts, a pharmacy benefit manager, the AP/Detroit Free Press reports (Agovino, AP/Detroit Free Press, 6/7). The study, which analyzes data from Express Scripts members, examines trends in the following categories: the inflationary increase in existing drugs, the increase in prescriptions written, the level of generic and specialty drugs prescribed, and spending on new drugs (Feldstein, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 6/6). The study also predicts trends in prescription drug spending, based on data from the federal government and IMS Health (AP/Detroit Free Press, 6/7). According to the study:
Comments
Express Scripts spokesperson Steve Littlejohn said the projected growth in specialty drug spending will be driven by the creation of new products, approval of additional uses for existing medications and increases in the number of patients (AP/Detroit Free Press, 6/7). Steve Miller — chief medical officer for Curascript specialty pharmacy, a subsidiary of Express Scripts — said the number of new blockbuster medications is decreasing because more physicians are prescribing generic drugs to manage chronic conditions. Robert Epstein, chief medical officer for Medco Health Solutions, the largest PBM in the U.S., said, “Physicians are increasingly worried about drug safety and so are consumers, for that matter” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 6/6).
Plastic surgery is a broad genre of surgery. It caters almost to the entire human…
If you are new to infertility treatment and wondering how you can get pregnant, then…
The very first month after conception often determines the course of your pregnancy. So, it…
The ecommerce industry has grown a lot in the recent years, to an amount where…
The problems of unwanted hair that trouble men of all ages Does unwanted hair make…
Infertility is common, which means the chances are high that you know someone who has…
This website uses cookies.