Prescription opioid volume in US dropped 43 percent since 2011 peak, says IQVIA report

By PharmaCompass

2019-05-17

Impressions: 70 Article

The war against opioids in the US is beginning to show positive results. The latest report from the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science has found that the prescription opioid dosage volume — as defined by morphine milligram equivalents, or MMEs — declined 17 percent in 2018. This is the single-largest annual drop ever recorded within the US market.

The study titled ‘Medicine Use and Spending in the US: A Review of 2018 and Outlook to 2023’ shows prescription opioid volume had increased annually since 1992, reaching its highest level in 2011.

“Prescription opioid volume has declined 43 percent since the peak in 2011, with high-dose prescriptions of 90 MMEs per day or greater declining by 61 percent, while prescriptions for fewer than 20 MMEs have largely remained stable,” the report said.

Thanks to a series of regulatory and legislative restrictions, coupled with tighter clinical prescribing guidelines and greater reimbursement controls, opioid dosage volumes on an average decreased by 4 percent-per-year from 2012 through 2016, followed by a 12 percent drop in 2017 and the historic 17 percent decline last year.

According to the IQVIA report, net total spending on medicines in the US is expected to reach US$ 405–435 billion in 2023, up from US$ 344 billion in 2018. This includes spending across all channels and product types.

Americans filled 5.8 billion 30-day equivalent prescriptions in 2018, up 2.7 percent over the previous year at a rate of 17.6 prescriptions per person. More than two-thirds of prescriptions are for chronic conditions, which are increasingly filled with 90-day prescriptions thought to result in better adherence to prescribed regimens

The PharmaCompass Newsletter – Sign Up, Stay Ahead

Feedback, help us to improve. Click here

Image Credit : #Phisper Infographic by SCORR MARKETING & PharmaCompass is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“ The article is based on the information available in public and which the author believes to be true. The author is not disseminating any information, which the author believes or knows, is confidential or in conflict with the privacy of any person. The views expressed or information supplied through this article is mere opinion and observation of the author. The author does not intend to defame, insult or, cause loss or damage to anyone, in any manner, through this article.”

NEWS

DRUGS & DEVELOPMENTS

MARKET INTEL by PharmaCompass