Growth Of Prescription Drugs Spending Slowing, But That Won’t Necessarily Be Reflected For Consumers
“We’re not suggesting that nobody is seeing higher costs," said Murray Aitken, of the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science, which released the numbers. "We’re just saying that when we roll everything up, the amount received by manufacturers rose by only 0.6 percent in 2017.”
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U.S. Spending On Prescription Drugs Rose Less Than 1 Percent Last Year
Amid national turmoil over rising drug costs, a new report finds that spending on prescription medicines in the U.S. last year grew a modest 0.6 percent, to $324 billion, after accounting for rebates and discounts that are paid by drug makers. And real net per-capita spending fell by 2.2 percent, when adjusted for those allowances, as well as for population and economic growth. The rebates and discounts mean that drug makers are realizing less revenue than the stated list prices for their medicines. The difference last year was $130 billion, up from $74 billion, according to data from the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science, which is part of the IQVIA market research firm. List prices, meanwhile, rose a modest 1.4 percent. (Silverman, 4/19)
In other pharmaceutical news —
Stat:
For Novartis' CAR-T Therapy, Early Sales Are Weak But Hopes Are Still High
The first CAR-T treatment to win approval from the Food and Drug Administration racked up just $12 million in sales last quarter, a reminder that the therapy has a long way to go if it’s ever going to meet Wall Street’s blockbuster expectations. Analysts expect Novartis’ Kymriah, which costs $475,000 for a one-time dose, to bring in about $159 million this year, according to Evaluate Pharma, meaning the drug maker is going to need to pick up the commercial pace if it hopes to avoid disappointment. (Garde, 4/19)
Stat:
Startup Unwinds Role Of Chromatin To Target Epigenetic Changes In Cancer
Surrounding the DNA in all our cells are molecular systems that tell those genes when to turn on or off. As researchers learn more about these so-called epigenetic mechanisms, they’re increasingly looking to use them to modify problematic genes. More than 20 drugs designed to block epigenetic proteins are in clinical trials now, following earlier drugs already on the market. And a new company aims to target one aspect of epigenetics — chromatin winding — to try to treat first cancer, and then other disorders. (Cooney, 4/20)
