Specialty drug costs account for over 50% of the total cost of care for RA and hepatitis C patients in USA

According to two new studies by Prime Therapeutics, a leading US pharmacy benefit manager, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and hepatitis C specialty drug costs now make up more than half of the total cost of care for patients with these conditions.

"As the pipeline of expensive specialty drugs continues to grow, we need to stay alert to cost of care trends to make sure patients and plan sponsors receive the best value and can manage the increasing cost burden these treatments bring," said Patrick Gleason, director of health outcomes at Prime.

The two studies from Prime, in conjunction with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, evaluated RA and hep C cost of care trends. In the first study, researchers found that, despite the overall decrease in hep C specialty drug use from 2008 to 2011 (17.2% versus 14.1%), the hep C specialty pharmacy total cost of care compound annual growth rate (CAGR) was 15% from 2008 to 2011. Specialty drug costs accounted for 35% ($13,332 of $38,055) of the total cost of hep C care in 2008 and was substantially higher at 52.6% in 2011 ($30,415 of $57,799), with a CAGR of 31.8%.