Posted by Michael Wonder on 01 Mar 2017
Orphan drug sales will outpace all other meds, thanks to high prices
28 February 2017 - As payers continue to foot the bill for orphan drugs, sales of these rare disease treatments are forecast to grow 11% over the next five years — to $209 billion.
And this is more than twice the expected increase in sales of all other prescription medicines, according to a new analysis.
By 2022, orphan drugs are predicted to account for more than 21% of worldwide brand-name prescription drug sales, up from 6% in 2000. Last year, sales of orphan drugs, which are used to treat rare diseases for patient populations numbering less than 200,000, climbed more than 12%, to $114 billion. By comparison, sales of other brand-name drugs rose 2.4% to $578 billion.
