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 Across the 33 OECD countries, pharmaceutical spending reached $800
billion in 2013, and new drugs and rising demand are likely to
continue to push that level higher, the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development said.
On average, one in every five health dollars is spent on
pharmaceuticals in OECD countries, raising concerns about how long
patients and governments can afford such expensive drugs.
"The emergence of new high-cost, specialty medicines targeting small
populations and/or complex conditions has prompted new debate on the
long-term sustainability and
efficiency of pharmaceutical spending," the organization said.
In the United States, 2013 spending per person on medicines was
twice the OECD average and more than 35 percent higher than in
Japan, the next biggest spender, the Paris-based OECD said in its
"Health at a Glance" report.
At the other end of the scale, Denmark spent less than half the OECD
average of $500 per person on retail pharmaceuticals.
The OECD's report offers more ammunition for industry critics, such
as U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who argue
that drugmakers are overcharging some wealthy nations for their
medicines.
An analysis carried out for Reuters last month found that U.S.
prices for the world's 20 top-selling drugs are, on average, three
times higher than in Britain.
The OECD report warned that rising demand for pharmaceuticals
coupled with what it called "new treatment opportunities" would
continue to push drug spending up.
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"The quantity of drugs consumed has increased over time in many
therapeutic classes," it said, noting that between 2000 and 2013 the
use of drugs for hypertension, diabetes and depression nearly
doubled in some OECD countries, while use of cholesterol-lowering
drugs tripled.
"These trends reflect an increasing demand for pharmaceuticals
resulting from the rising prevalence of chronic diseases, population
aging (and) changes in clinical practices."
Rising rates of cancer, diabetes and mental illness are adding to
demand for drugs, the report said. Aging populations and
improvements in diagnosis, leading to earlier treatment, are also
contributing to rising consumption. So too is the development of
more medicines to treat common conditions.
In South Korea and the Netherlands, for example, spending per capita
on pharmaceuticals rises rapidly with age, the OECD said.
(Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
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