January 28, 2021 – Vizient, Inc. (Irving, TX) released its Winter 2021 Pharmacy Market Outlook, projecting a 2.67% increase in the price of pharmaceuticals purchased by health systems, academic medical centers, pediatric hospitals, and non-acute practices, for the period July 1 – June 30, 2022.
Formerly named the Drug Price Forecast, the Outlook’s projected increase continues to trend slightly downward, reflecting recent generic entrants to the market as well as increasing adoption of biosimilars.
Findings also include a similar overall increase for oncology spend, which makes up nearly a quarter of Vizient member pharmaceutical spend, a potential increase in cancer mortality due to the impact of COVID-19 on screenings as well as COVID’s inflationary impact on plasma-derived products.
A new formulation of vasopressin was recently approved by the FDA and granted market exclusivity through 2035, causing its price to spike significantly. Fortunately, several substantial price decreases are projected for drugs like injectable acetaminophen, daptomycin, a commonly used antibiotic, and regadenoson, a medication used in cardiac stress testing, further illustrating the importance of generic and biosimilar competition.
The drug with the largest anticipated price increase remains adalimumab, sold under the brand name Humira and used to treat arthritis and ulcerative colitis. As biosimilar competition is not yet allowed to be marketed, adalimumab, which is already the No. 1 drug by total spend for Vizient members and the U.S. health system alike, is projected to increase in price by 7.5% over the next 18 months.