4 things to know about the QuintilesIMS drivers of medicine spending in the U.S. report

In case you missed it, a new analysis from QuintilesIMS, which draws on the Medicines Use and Spending in the U.S. — A Review of 2016 and Outlook to 2021 report and the Outlook for Global Medicines Through 2021: Balancing Cost and Value, takes an in-depth look at the true drivers of U.S. medicine spending.

Many patients are struggling to access the medicine they need and have important questions about their medicine costs. But, in order to have productive conversations, we need to be using the same set of facts. According to QuintilesIMS, medicine spending growth was just 4.8 percent in 2016. Unfortunately it doesn’t feel that way for patients. That is because insurers are increasingly using high deductibles, which result in patients paying the full list price of a medicine, even if their insurer receives a significant discount.

Here are four things you should know about the latest QuintilesIMS report:

• Prices for existing brand-name medicines declined by an average of 2.5 percent annually over the last six years, primarily due to patent expirations and generic competition.
• Biopharmaceutical company revenues increased by 3.9 percent per year on average between 2010 and 2016 after discounts and rebates. Increases were primarily due to the use of innovative new medicines and wider utilization of existing medicines, and not price increases.
• Growth in prices for existing brand-name medicines are projected to decline by an average of 1 to 4 percent annually through 2021 after accounting for discounts, rebates and generic competition.
• Biopharmaceutical company revenues on brand-name and generic medicines are projected to grow between just 2 and 5 percent on average annually through 2021 after discounts and rebates.

Learn more at www.LetsTalkAboutCost.org.