Significant slowdown in rate of drug spending growth in the USA in 2016: report

Spending on pharmaceutical products in the USA saw growth during 2016, but at a much slower rate than in the previous two years, according to new research.

Growth in US spending on prescription medicines fell in 2016 as competition intensified among manufacturers, and payers ramped up efforts to limit price increases, states research released today by the QuintilesIMS Institute.

New medicines introduced in the past two years continue to drive at least half of total spending growth as clusters of innovative treatments for cancer, autoimmune diseases, HIV, multiple sclerosis, and diabetes become accessible to patients. The prospects for innovative treatments over the next five years are bright fueled by a robust late-phase pipeline of more than 2,300 novel products that include more than 600 cancer treatments. US net total spending is expected to increase 2%-5% on average through 2021, reaching $375-405 billion.