August 1, 2023 – Vizient is projecting a 3.42% increase in hospital pharmaceutical spend in its Summer Pharmacy Market Outlook, released July 31. The overall increase, forecasted for the year beginning January 2024, is being driven by specialty pharmaceuticals and medications in the neurology service line. In addition, the Outlook demonstrates the continued decline in demand for remdesivir, which topped the list of Vizient member spend during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and has since fallen to number 13.
Specialty drugs, which treat high-cost, complex or chronic conditions such as cancer, infectious-, autoimmune-, and pulmonary conditions, continues to see an expansion in the number of medications approved as treatment options. Not only are three of the top five medications in Vizient member spend classified as specialty — including adalimumab (Humira); ustekinumab (Stelara); and denosumab (Prolia, Xgeva) — two specialty oncology medications approved last year are already in the top 100 drugs of Vizient member spend: Teclistimab (Tecvayli) and tebentafusp (Kimmtrak). The former is used in the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma; the latter is the only FDA-approved treatment for unresectable or metastatic uveal melanoma.