Orphan drug market forecast to reach $176 billion by 2020

In 2020, orphan drugs are expected to account for 19% of the total share of prescription drug sales excluding generics, reaching $176 billion in annual sales, according to the new EvaluatePharma Orphan Drug Report 2014 from market intelligence firm Evaluate Ltd.

At 11%, growth in the orphan drug market is set to be more than double the 5% growth rate of the overall prescription market excluding generics. This year’s report also includes pricing estimates based on Evaluate’s new USA Sales, Volume and Pricing content set. In 2014, the average orphan drug cost per patient per year was $137,782 compared to an average of $20,875 for a non-orphan drug.

“Orphan drugs are no longer a niche segment of the market and are projected to account for 19% of the prescription drug market by 2020,” said Anthony Raeside, Evaluate’s head of research, adding: “Although orphan populations are by definition the smallest, they represent big per-patient outlays, and insurers will be looking carefully at new tools to arrest cost growth as more and more orphan drugs launch.”