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Monday, February 25, 2013

Third Annual Medical Pharmacy Trend Report Illuminates Hidden Healthcare Costs

Mon Feb 25, 2013 8:45am EST

http://pdf.reuters.com/htmlnews/8knews.asp?i=43059c3bf0e37541&u=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20130225:nBw256006a

Industry reporting on specialty pharmaceuticals has historically left out
medications covered and paid for under the medical benefit.

This is the only detailed drug trend report available for those medicines
administered by providers and billed under the medical benefit.

Specialty drug costs increased 16 percent for the top 25 therapies.
AVON, Conn.--(Business Wire)--
Today, Magellan Pharmacy Solutions, a division of Magellan Health Services
(NASDAQ: MGLN) released its third annual Medical Pharmacy Trend Report. The
report is the only industry benchmark of its kind to analyze medical drug data,
explaining the trends surrounding specialty medications such as those used to
treat complex chronic conditions like cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple
sclerosis. 

"No other source exists that directly measures the trends for injectables that
are paid under a payor`s medical benefit, where top drugs, such as Neulasta,
Remicade, Avastin, Rituxan, and Tysabri are almost entirely paid," said Michael
Waterbury, President of ICORE Healthcare (a subsidiary of Magellan Pharmacy
Solutions). 

As much as 50 percent of specialty pharmaceuticals are managed and paid for
under the medical plan benefit today, a significant increase compared to
previous years. This is driven by several factors, most notably the ability of
manufacturers to maintain patent protection for the top 25 specialty drugs.
Increases in price and utilization are also key drivers of increased trend. The
year-over-year cost increase for specialty drugs was 16 percent for the top 25
therapies. 


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