New RGA Report Identifies Most Expensive Specialty Drugs
August 23 2016 - 8:30AM
Business Wire
RGA Reinsurance Company, a subsidiary of Reinsurance Group of
America, Incorporated, (NYSE: RGA) today released a report
identifying 183 high-cost specialty drugs, defined as costing
greater than $50,000 annually or $7,000 monthly, based on wholesale
acquisition costs (WAC) of each product identified. The report and
accompanying management tool serve as a resource to educate and
inform healthcare professionals about high-cost drugs.
Of the 183 drugs on the list, 126 (69%) cost more than $100,000
per year, and 48 of those (26%) cost more than $200,000 annually.
The most expensive drugs in annual cost include:
- Glybera, which is indicated for the
treatment of lipoprotein lipase deficiency ($1,210,000). This
product is not yet approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), but is available in Europe.
- Ravicti, indicated for the treatment of
urea cycle disorders ($793,632)
- Lumizyme, indicated for the treatment
of Pompe’s Disease ($626,400)
- Carbaglu, indicated for hyperammonemia
($585,408)
- Actimmune, for the treatment of severe,
malignant osteopetrosis and chronic granulomatous disease
($572,292).
According to the report, hemophilia and related disorders are
some of the most expensive diseases to treat medicinally. Treatment
options include, 34 different specialty drugs listed at $100,000 or
more per year. RGA’s report, which is available to the company’s
clients, includes a detailed analysis and disease breakout on
hemophilia drug costs. Click here to view an infographic outlining
some additional information contained in the report.
To accompany the report, RGA also developed a detailed Excel
tool to help its clients manage the surge in both the volume and
the cost of specialty drugs. The tool, which can be quickly and
easily searched, sorted, and filtered to specific drug names,
codes, classes, and costs, was developed by RGA Group Research in
conjunction with ROSE® Health Services Consultants. ROSE
(Reinsurance Outcomes and Service Experts) is a nurse-led
consulting service and the nation’s foremost reinsurance-based case
management consulting program.
"This report and management tool will serve as invaluable
resources for practitioners across insurance medicine," said
Michelle Fallahi, Senior Vice President, Healthcare Reinsurance,
RGA. "With the rising cost of healthcare, the role of insurance has
never been more important, especially for patients requiring
high-cost treatment. Programs like ROSE and resources like this
high-cost drug management tool enable carriers to manage cost more
effectively and lead to the goal we are all working toward: better
outcomes for patients."
About the Report
For the scope of this tool and report, high-cost drugs are
defined as costing greater than $50,000 annually or $7,000 monthly.
The cost cited is the lesser of the cost of curing the disease in a
given patient or providing 12 months of treatment. The exception to
this definition is if a lower-cost drug is routinely paired with a
higher-cost drug, then it is also listed in this report. Costs were
based on Wholesale Acquisition Costs (WAC) which represents a
manufacturer-reported “list price,” at which, that manufacturer
will sell a medication to a wholesaler. Like Average Wholesale
Price (AWP), WAC is not based on actual sales information, and it
is usually higher than the price at which a manufacturer will sell
a drug to a wholesaler. WAC does not represent actual transaction
prices and does not include other discounts, rebates, or reductions
in price.
About RGA
Reinsurance Group of America Incorporated (RGA) is among the
leading global providers of life reinsurance and financial
solutions, with approximately $3.1 trillion of life reinsurance in
force and assets of $53.9 billion as of June 30, 2016. Founded in
1973, RGA today is recognized for its deep technical expertise in
risk and capital management, innovative solutions, and commitment
to serving its clients. With headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri
and operations in 26 countries, RGA delivers expert solutions in
individual life reinsurance, individual living benefits
reinsurance, group reinsurance, health reinsurance, facultative
underwriting, product development, and financial solutions. To
learn more about RGA and its businesses, visit the company’s
website at http://www.rgare.com/.
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Reinsurance Group of America, IncorporatedLynn Phillips,
636-736-2351Executive Director, Public
Relationslphillips@rgare.com
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