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Spending on HCV, specialty medications rose sharply in 2012
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Consumer spending on drugs to treat complex illnesses, particularly hepatitis C, increased substantially during 2012, while costs for traditional prescription drugs declined, according to a recent report.
The report, published by Express Scripts, indicated that total spending on prescription drugs decreased by 1.5% during 2012, marking the first such reduction in more than 20 years. Spending on specialty medications for complex illnesses that included hepatitis C, however, increased by 18.4% among commercially insured patients, compared with a 17.1% increase in 2011.
The total spending trend for hepatitis C-related medications grew by 33.7% — the largest increase among drugs for all observed major illnesses for the year. The researchers attributed this surge to the 2011 release of Incivek (telaprevir, Vertex Pharmaceuticals) and Victrelis (boceprevir, Merck). In a Specialty Quarterly Spotlight within the report, the researchers noted that, “Due to their increased efficacy, both Incivek and Victrelis got off to a quick start in 2011, dramatically increasing the price of treating hepatitis C. Studies have estimated the wholesale acquisition costs of 12 weeks of Incivek therapy at $49,200 and a 32-week course of Victrelis therapy at $35,200.”
The estimated average cost for a hepatitis C prescription was $3,370 in 2011, compared with $1,389 in 2010. The researchers predicted that spending for hepatitis C-related medications will to continue to grow by an estimated 32.3% in 2013 and 56.3% in 2014 as new treatments and screening guidelines emerge.
“Previously untreated patients, some of whom may have recently discovered their infection as a result of the new screening guidelines, along with patients who have failed treatment with one of the other therapies, are said to be awaiting the launch of a new class of interferon-free medications that is expected to hit the market as early as 2014,” the researchers wrote. “Plan sponsors should take steps to prepare for the onslaught of new patients and increased drug costs.”