Prices of the 20 most commonly prescribed brand-name drugs for seniors have increased nearly 4 times more than the general inflation over the past five years.
12 of the 20 drugs saw their prices increased by more than 50% over a five-year period and six had increases of more than 100%.
Brand-name drugs account for approximately 80% of drug expenditures.
More than $800 million dollars may be spent on the development of a pharmaceutical.
In 2018 drug expenditures in the US were $1443 per capita.
Medication spending makes up about 14% of total US healthcare spending.
Pharmaceutical companies spend almost twice as much on marketing and administrative costs as on research and development.
More than $122 billion spent annually on pharmaceuticals in the U.S.
The pharmaceutical industry spent more than $15 billion on promotion of drugs in 2000.
In 2003 the pharmaceutical industry spent more than $33 billion on research and development.
Estimated that more than 20% of commonly used drugs are prescribed off label.
More than 200 medications have been associated with depression or suicidal symptoms.
It is estimated that 29% of Medicare beneficiaries 65 years or older filled a prescription for at least one medication that should be avoided in older adults.
Inappropriate drug prescriptions are such because of the risk of harm and availability of safer treatments, inappropriate prescriptions can lead to adverse drug events, falls, cognitive impairment, and emergency hospitalizations.
Most new drugs entering the market, particularly medications for neurologic and psychiatric disorders, provide no additional benefit over and above the existing standard of care,.
In a large study, investigators found that only 25% of the 216 new drugs entering the German market between 2011 and 2017 were judged to have a considerable, or major, added benefit.
For 16% of these new agents, this additional benefit was either minor or could not be quantified.
The field of psychiatry/neurology fared the worst with just one of 18 new drugs (6%) showing added benefit.
New drugs for diabetes also performed badly with only four out of 24 (17%) showing extra value.