A new analysis finds nearly half of brand medicine spending – the sum of all payments made at the pharmacy or paid on a claim to a health care provider – went to the supply chain and other entities in 2018. The share of spending received by other stakeholders increased dramatically from 33% in 2013 to 46% in 2018. Since 2015, the amount innovative biopharmaceutical companies received from the sale of brand medicines increased on average 2.6% annually, in line with inflation.
Policymakers can’t help patients afford their medicine if they ignore where almost half the money is going.
This post was paid for by PhRMA.