Disease Proof

Posted at 7:38 AM on March 13, 2008 by Gerald Pugliese

Drug Sales Slow

I’m not a big fan of handing Big Pharma your paycheck. So this made me smile. In 2007 U.S. drugs sales grew at their slowest rate since 1961. Reuters reports:

Total U.S. prescription drug sales reached $286.5 billion last year with slowing growth blamed on factors including patent expirations of lucrative medicines that opened the door to cheaper generic versions.

Other reasons cited by IMS in its annual U.S. Pharmaceutical Market Performance Review were fewer new product approvals, safety concerns, and the leveling of year-over-year growth from the Medicare Part D program.

The 3.8 percent growth rate compares to 8 percent growth seen in 2006.

"The moderating growth trend that began in 2001 resumed last year following the one-time impact on market growth in 2006 from the implementation of Medicare Part D," Murray Aitken, IMS's senior vice president for healthcare insight, said in a statement.

All I can say is—tough noogies!

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JD - March 13, 2008 11:17 AM

And what direction has our health been going in since then?

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