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The world spends most of its money on medicine. New study reveals that by the year 2018 the world drug bill will reach approximately $1.3 trillion. The new treatments for cancer and hepatitis C contribute to the rise. Another factor for this increase are the people that buy pharmaceuticals using their rising incomes.
The new drug against hepatitis C called Gilead costs $1,000 per pill, and this will help the increase in spending more on drugs by 30% compared to 2013. The new study was made by IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, which track down the prescriptions for drugs and sell the data.
As the world drug bill continues to rise, the health system will have to decide on how to give out the budgets. Murray Aitken, IMS executive directors said:
“The focus now is, how do we get value from the trillion dollars we’re spending?”
According to the new study, the United States spends the most on drugs per capital in 2018. The IMS Institute forecasts that the Americans will pay an average of approximately $1,409 per person in 2018. This is actually up from last year’s $1,075. The rate grew faster than the expansion of the American population.
China is the second-biggest pharmaceutical manufacturer in the world and it is forecast to spend approximately $124 per person in 2108, which is an increase from last year, when it was $72.
The new study on the world drug bill also reveals that the new high prices on medicines will increase the spending in developed countries and will also raise it in countries like Africa.
The new study showed that other types of health spending won’t rise in the next year, like doctor visits, or hospital care. In some cases, the drugs lower the total spending by keeping the people out of the doctor’s office or the hospitals.
The new drugs for Hepatitis C, like Sovaldi and Harvoni by Gilead and Olysio by Johnson & Johnson, are pushing the world drug bill higher. The study shows that the world will spend more than $100 billion on the new drugs from 2014 until 2018.
