Vizient Drug Price Forecast Projects 4.28 Percent Increase for 2019-2020
An executive summary of the Drug Price Forecast can be accessed here .
Vizient,
Inc. released today its January 2019 Drug Price Forecast projecting
health systems, including inpatient and non-acute environments, can
expect a 4.28 percent increase for pharmaceutical purchases made from
July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020. In spite of this trend of continued
moderation in anticipated drug pricing inflation, the overall cost of
medications combined with other practice issues and regulatory
requirements remain as substantial challenges for health systems. An
executive summary of the Drug Price Forecast can be accessed here.
“Although this Drug Price Forecast predicts a modest pricing growth of
more than 4 percent, this rate is still significantly higher than the
overall rate of inflation,” said Dan
Kistner, senior vice president, pharmacy solutions for Vizient.
“Even though prices are growing more slowly overall than in previous
years, we continue to see new, increasingly expensive treatments
introduced at ever higher list costs. In addition, supply disruptions
and heightened requirements for regulatory adherence can increase
expenditures for member organizations.”
The latest forecast specifically calls out that oncology medications,
disease-modifying agents and immunomodulatory agents continue to account
for the majority of health system pharmacy spend. “Similar to forecasts
in the past, we are seeing a large amount of spending going into the
same few categories. While we are seeing some increased competition for
certain drugs, the effects of the slow uptake of adoption to
biosimilars, natural disasters, exacerbation of drug shortages and
reimbursement limitations have continued to drive up costs for
providers,” said Kistner.
In addition to the pricing projections, the Vizient Drug Price Forecast
offers insight into key therapeutic classes that continue to be among
the highest expenses for supply chains, such as oncology medications,
anti-infective agents, therapies for multiple sclerosis (MS) and
rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and plasma-derived pharmaceuticals. The
forecast also analyzes challenges the healthcare system faces, such as
overcoming drug shortages and expanding the use of biosimilars and
generics.
Highlights from the forecast report include:
-
Increases in competition from new generic and biosimilar approvals
aid in long-term efforts at mitigating price growth: 2019 will be
a seminal year for biosimilars as competing versions of monoclonal
antibodies commonly used in oncology, such as rituximab, bevacizumab
and trastuzumab, are expected to enter the market. In addition, a
second biosimilar for pegfilgrastim has entered the market. These four
molecules alone account for approximately $14 billion in spend
nationally over 12 months. Although there are fewer generic versions
of blockbuster drugs reaching the market than in past years, the added
competition for new generics continues to help lower costs. -
New strategies are required to help address the ongoing challenge
of drug shortages: The fragility of the pharmaceutical supply
chain will remain an ongoing threat to drug costs and limit
availability. For the first time since 2014, both new and existing
shortages increased in 2018. Critical categories like antimicrobials,
chemotherapy products, electrolytes and central nervous system drugs
are still greatly affected by supply problems. -
Specialty pharmaceuticals are consuming more spend and increasingly
contribute to rising drug costs: The number and cost of specialty
pharmaceuticals continues to draw the attention of the health care
community as providers, payers and patients work to manage the
increasing expense of these medications. The increasing financial
challenge presented by specialty pharmaceuticals has a substantial
impact on health care providers and an even greater impact on
patients, for whom the burden imposed by high-cost drugs is
significant.
The Vizient Drug Price Forecast reflects the collective expertise of
over two dozen employees of the Vizient pharmacy sourcing, analytics,
clinical and consulting teams along with external resources, including
its members. It is based on the analysis of data from Vizient’s Pharmacy
Program, which compiles member participants’ purchases (price and
volume) in hospital and non-acute care settings. Vizient bases inflation
estimates on price change history during the last 36 months, as well as
current knowledge of contract allowances and marketplace factors such as
expiring patents and anticipated new competition.
The forecast is an important resource for pharmacy leaders in developing
annual budget projections for their health systems. Vizient conducts the
pricing analysis biannually each year to provide insight on factors
driving pricing and practice changes in the pharmaceutical industry. The
forecast may be accessed here: https://www.vizientinc.com/-/media/Documents/SitecorePublishingDocuments/Public/Jan2019_DrugPriceForecast_public.pdf.
Slides that summarize the key points in the forecast can be accessed
here: https://www.vizientinc.com/-/media/Documents/SitecorePublishingDocuments/Public/DPF_201901_Slides_Summary_public.pdf.
About Vizient, Inc.
Vizient, Inc., the largest member-driven health care performance
improvement company in the country, provides innovative data-driven
solutions, expertise and collaborative opportunities that lead to
improved patient outcomes and lower costs. Vizient’s diverse membership
base includes academic medical centers, pediatric facilities, community
hospitals, integrated health delivery networks and non-acute health care
providers and represents approximately $100 billion in annual purchasing
volume. The Vizient brand identity represents the integration of VHA
Inc., University HealthSystem Consortium and Novation, which combined in
2015, as well as MedAssets’ Spend and Clinical Resource Management (SCM)
segment, including Sg2, which was acquired in 2016. In 2018, Vizient
again received a World’s Most Ethical Company designation from the
Ethisphere Institute. Vizient’s headquarters are in Irving, Texas, with
locations in Chicago and other cities across the United States. Please
visit www.vizientinc.com as
well as our newsroom, blog, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube pages
for more information about the company.
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