Americans faced double-digit price increases for prescription medications in 2014, with brand, generic and specialty drugs combined rising 10.9%, according to the Truveris National Drug Index, which today reported its full year figures for the first time.
Brand drug prices spiked 14.8%, while specialty drug prices jumped 9.7%. Generics, historically intended to curb costs, are contributing to prescription price inflation, increasing 4.9% last year.
While prices rose across all therapeutic classes, certain conditions fared worse than others. Across composite calculations of brand, generic and specialty drugs, notable rises included: muscle pain and stiffness (29.8%); inflammation (26.6%); Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (23.0%); and heart disease (19.4%).
On the generics front, major increases were reported across several mainstream therapeutic classes. Leading the price inflation were generic drugs treating muscle pain and stiffness, with a 31.9% price increase. Other major increases reported in generics were for inflammation (31.7%); heart disease (23.7%); acne (18.1%); and infections (11.8%).
“Drug costs across all categories are becoming an escalating concern for patients, employers, insurers and lawmakers,” said Bryan Birch, Chairman, President and CEO of Truveris, a leading platform for prescription drug pricing and benefits analysis. “Looking at macro industry trends, including consolidation, regulation and formulary pressures, we expect this price inflation to continue to put pressure on American households and employers in 2015.”
The Truveris National Drug Index (NDI) is the only prescription drug price index in the U.S. measuring the average price of prescription drugs, driven by the most commonly utilized prescriptions. Calculated monthly, it provides a holistic, accurate measurement of the prices paid by private insurers, self-insured organizations, government, unions and uninsured patients.
Represented graphically on www.truveris.com, the current index shows:
Truveris NDI Composite
- Over the full year 2014, the Truveris NDI increased 58.9 points or 10.9%.
- For the month of December, the Truveris NDI rose 4.6 points or 0.8%.
Truveris NDI Brand
- Over the full year 2014, the brand index increased 39.5 points or 14.8%.
- For the month of December, the brand index rose 2.9 points or 1.0%.
Truveris NDI Generic
- Over the full year 2014, the generic index increased 7.2 points or 4.9%.
- For the month of December, the generic index rose 0.3 points or 0.2%.
Truveris NDI Specialty
- Over the full year 2014, the specialty index increased 12.22 points or 9.7%.
- For the month of December, the specialty index rose 1.4 points or 1.0%.
About Truveris
Truveris is the leading prescription drug analytics company, on a mission to democratize data and access through technology. Our proprietary Software-as-a-Service platforms drive transparency and lower costs across the pharmacy benefit ecosystem: solutions including RxChoice®, TruBid® and RxDashSM enable clients to select a pharmacy benefit vendor and anticipate financial trends and projected annual spend with unprecedented accuracy and efficiency. Truveris is backed by Canaan Partners, New Leaf Venture Partners, Tribeca Venture Partners, New Atlantic Ventures and First Round Capital. For more information, contact us at info@truveris.com.
© 2015 Truveris, Inc. All rights reserved.
All trademarks indicated above are owned by Truveris.
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