Global prescription drug spending to hit $1.5 trillion in 2021
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LONDONDec 07, 2016 - 12:00 am GMT+3
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Dec 07, 2016 12:00 am
Global spending on prescription medicines will reach nearly $1.5 trillion by 2021, although the annual rate of growth will decrease from recent years, according to a forecast by Quintiles IMS Holding released yesterday. That figure, based on wholesale pricing, is up nearly $370 billion from estimated 2016 spending. The United States will account for up to $675 billion of the $1.5 trillion. When accounting for anticipated discounts and rebates to health insurers and other payers, 2021 net spending will be closer to $1 trillion, the QuintilesIMS Outlook for Global Medicines through 2021 report found. Annual spending growth over the next five years is forecast at 4-7 percent, primarily driven by newer medicines for cancer, diabetes and autoimmune diseases in developed markets. That compares with spending growth of nearly 9 percent in 2014 and 2015 fueled in part by surging demand for new hepatitis C cures that has since leveled off. QuintilesIMS regularly tracks prescription drug data for the industry.
Spending in the United States, the largest market with by far the highest drug prices, is expected to account for more than half of global growth over the period, at a compound annual rate of 6 to 9 percent, or 4 to 7 percent including discounts and rebates. That is down from 12 percent spending growth in 2015. Economic slowdowns in Europe and emerging markets, such as China, Brazil and Russia, will contribute to an overall drag on spending growth and slow plans to expand access to more medicines, the report said. For example, China is expected to spend between $150 billion and $180 billion in 2021, but annual spending growth for medicines will fall to less than 7 percent over the next five years from about 14 percent over the prior five.
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Research Associate at Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA) at Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University
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