Drug prices Even if slower growth projections hold, the specialty pharmacy market will continue its rapid growth and account for the majority of inflation.. (Photo: Shutterstock)

It’s a good news/bad news kind of thing: while inflation in drug prices is expected to continue in 2019, it won’t be as bad as it was last year. Prices are expected to increase just 4.92 percent, a welcome change compared with the 7.61 percent inflation in pharmaceutical prices projected for 2018.

Those numbers come from Vizient, Inc.’s most recent Drug Price Forecast.  Although it cautions that even if those slower growth projections hold, the specialty pharmacy market will continue its rapid growth and account for the majority of inflation. In fact, 46 percent of the total amount spent on drugs in the U.S. is on specialty pharmaceuticals, even though they’re only used for very small and targeted patient populations.

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Marlene Satter

Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.

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