Science Current Events | Science News | Brightsurf.com
 
Email a Friend Send to a friend
Printer Friendly Print Pricey new versions of old drugs fuelling huge rise in drug spending

Pricey new versions of old drugs fuelling huge rise in drug spending

September 02, 2005

'Breakthrough' drugs and growth in expenditure on prescription drugs in Canada BMJ Online First

Newly patented versions of old drugs are driving the rapid growth in expenditure on prescription drugs in most developed countries, without offering substantial improvements over existing products, finds a study published online by the BMJ today.




The rising cost of using these "me-too" drugs at prices far exceeding those of time-tested competitors deserves careful scrutiny, say the authors, based at the University of British Columbia in Canada, where spending on drugs doubled between 1996 and 2003.

They used classifications from the Canadian Patented Medicine Prices Review Board to examine which drugs drove this expenditure growth.

Between 1990 and 2003, the board appraised 1147 newly patented drugs. Of these, 68 (5.9%) met the regulatory criterion of being a breakthrough drug (defined as the first drug to treat effectively a particular illness or which provides a substantial improvement over existing drug products).

The balance of the newly patented drugs did not provide a substantial improvement over existing products, so were classified as "me-to" drugs. Older drugs (available before 1990) were classified as "vintage brand" or "vintage generic" drugs.

Breakthrough drugs accounted for 6% of expenditure and 1% of use in 1996, and 10% of expenditure and 2% of use in 2003.

Vintage brand and vintage generic drugs combined accounted for 75% of total use in 1996 and 54% in 2003, but only 53% and 27% of total annual expenditure. In contrast, me-too drugs accounted for 44% of use and 63% of expenditure by 2003. Their average cost per day of treatment was twice that of vintage brand drugs and four times that of vintage generic drugs.

Given that the list of top 20 drugs in global sales includes newly patented versions of older drugs, me-too drugs probably dominate spending trends in most developed countries, conclude the authors.

BMJ-British Medical Journal



Related Drug Spending Current Events and Drug Spending News Articles
Legal loophole exposes Canadians to drug advertising banned in US: UBC research
A legal loophole is counteracting Canada's ban on direct-to-consumer drug advertising and has exposed Canadians to more than $90 million worth of ads, including those for drugs with life-threatening risks, according to a study by UBC researchers.

Pharmaceutical disobedience
Healthcare consumers, benefits managers, and even government officials are using the internet to buy unapproved prescription drugs illegally, according to a report to be published in the International Journal of Electronic Healthcare.

Cost control measures limit patient and physician choice in psychotropic medications
A new Brandeis University study published online in Clinical Therapeutics suggests that private health plans increasingly rely on escalating copayments to manage drug costs, as opposed to administrative controls.

Identification Of New Asthma Genes Demonstrates A Model For Improved Patient Care
An international team of researchers from the University of Helsinki, GeneOS Ltd. and partner institutions announced today that it has made significant discoveries on the causes of asthma. The team's study, published in the April 9, 2004 edition of Science, reports two novel asthma genes and a set of diagnostic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The implications of the finding are that physicians may be able to identify atopic asthma and allergy patients earlier than is currently possible. Even more importantly, the gene that was found to be the risk gene for asthma is well suited for a drug target molecule. Previous genome-wide scans in multiple populations have suggested that there i
More Drug Spending Current Events and Drug Spending News Articles
  Ways Physicians Can Reduce Drug Spending.: An article from: Pediatric News
by Kathryn Demott (Author)

This digital document is an article from Pediatric News, published by International Medical News Group on July 1, 2001. The length of the article is 646 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Ways Physicians Can Reduce Drug Spending.
Author: Kathryn Demott
Publication: Pediatric News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 1, 2001
Publisher: International Medical News Group
Volume: 35 Issue: 7 Page: 40

Distributed by Thomson...

Graveyard Drug Party

Graveyard Drug Party
The Oh Sees (Primary Contributor)



  One Hundred Million Guinea Pigs: Dangers in Everyday Foods, Drugs, & Cosmetics (Getting and spending)
by Arthur Kallet (Author)



  Congress eyes Medicare spending on drugs. (Needs Reform).(Brief Article): An article from: Skin & Allergy News
by Joyce Frieden (Author)

This digital document is an article from Skin & Allergy News, published by International Medical News Group on May 1, 2002. The length of the article is 854 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Congress eyes Medicare spending on drugs. (Needs Reform).(Brief Article)
Author: Joyce Frieden
Publication: Skin & Allergy News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 2002
Publisher: International Medical News Group
Volume: 33 Issue: 5 Page: 48(1)

Article Type: Brief Article

Distributed by Thomson...

  Growth rate in U.S. health care costs may decline: slower rise in hospital, drug spending.(Practice Trends): An article from: Skin & Allergy News
by Joyce Frieden (Author)

This digital document is an article from Skin & Allergy News, published by International Medical News Group on April 1, 2004. The length of the article is 616 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Growth rate in U.S. health care costs may decline: slower rise in hospital, drug spending.(Practice Trends)
Author: Joyce Frieden
Publication: Skin & Allergy News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 1, 2004
Publisher: International Medical News Group
Volume: 35 Issue: 4 Page: 61(1)

Distributed by Thomson...

  Drug costs continue to rise; no end in sight: prescription drug spending increased 90 percent between 1998 and 2002.: An article from: Arkansas Business
by Journal Publishing, Inc. (Publisher)

This digital document is an article from Arkansas Business, published by Journal Publishing, Inc. on August 18, 2003. The length of the article is 553 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Drug costs continue to rise; no end in sight: prescription drug spending increased 90 percent between 1998 and 2002.
Publication: Arkansas Business (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 18, 2003
Publisher: Journal Publishing, Inc.
Volume: 20 Issue: 33 Page: S8(1)

Distributed by Thomson...

  Slamming the brakes on drug spending: specialty drug spending is up, way up, and specialty benefits managers are ideally suited to help companies manage ... CARE): An article from: Risk & Insurance
by Steve Russek (Author)

This digital document is an article from Risk & Insurance, published by Thomson Gale on April 1, 2007. The length of the article is 1289 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Slamming the brakes on drug spending: specialty drug spending is up, way up, and specialty benefits managers are ideally suited to help companies manage the new challenge of keeping costs in check.(HEALTH CARE)
Author: Steve Russek
Publication: Risk & Insurance (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 18 Issue: 4 Page: 44(2)

Distributed by...

  Jump in Drug Spending Tied to HMO Copayments.(Brief Article): An article from: Family Practice News
by Timothy F. Kirn (Author)

This digital document is an article from Family Practice News, published by International Medical News Group on September 15, 1999. The length of the article is 664 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Jump in Drug Spending Tied to HMO Copayments.(Brief Article)
Author: Timothy F. Kirn
Publication: Family Practice News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 15, 1999
Publisher: International Medical News Group
Volume: 29 Issue: 18 Page: 46

Article Type: Brief Article

Distributed by Thomson...

  Health care and prescription drug spending by seniors: spending for health care and for prescription drugs among seniors has increased over the 1980-97 ... An article from: Monthly Labor Review
by Jessie X. Fan (Author), Deanna L. Sharpe (Author), Goog-Soog Hong (Author)

This digital document is an article from Monthly Labor Review, published by Superintendent Of Documents on March 1, 2003. The length of the article is 7639 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Health care and prescription drug spending by seniors: spending for health care and for prescription drugs among seniors has increased over the 1980-97 period; the seniors who had insurance coverage in addition to Medicare, on average, spent more on health care and prescription drugs than those who had Medicare coverage only. (Health Care Spending by Seniors).
Author: Jessie...

  Prescription Drugs: Spending Controls in Four European Countries
by Diane Pub. (Publisher)



© 2009 BrightSurf.com