Health Affairs published an analysis which found spending on prescription drugs that treat rare diseases, orphan drugs, are often exaggerated, according to npr.
Researchers analyzed U.S. pharmaceutical spending on more than 300 drugs with orphan drug approval between 2007 and 2013.
Here are five takeaways:
1. In 2007, orphan drug spending in the United States totaled $15 billion, up from $30 billion in 2013.
2. The analysis anticipated orphan drug spending will remain stable as a part of total pharmaceutical spending. The analysis' projection varies from other reports which anticipate orphan drug spending will comprise nearly 20 percent of global drug spending by 2020.
3. The Orphan Drug Act has been applauded and critiqued for both promoting the production of drugs for rare diseases, while also raising concerns about the drugs' escalated prices.
4. The act has a seven-year exclusivity period that prohibits both competition and financial incentives to those companies that create orphan drugs that impact less than 200,000 individuals. An America's Health Insurance Plans spokesperson said, "When those financial incentives become sort of an investment opportunity to take advantage of the Orphan Drug Act. That's a huge, huge concern."
5. The analysis' authors found orphan drug spending only comprised 1 percent of total U.S. healthcare spending. The authors concluded, "drug expenditures are minimal when considered as part of total health care expenditures."
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