Report: Specialty pharmacy to account for half of all prescription revenue by 2018

PHILADELPHIA — Almost two-thirds of specialty pharmacy revenues are attributed to 1-of-3 companies, and the specialty pharmacy market is poised to explode, according to a Drug Channels Institute report released Tuesday. 

"Three companies — Express Scripts, CVS Caremark and Walgreens — account for 63% of revenues from pharmacy-dispensed specialty medications that treat such illnesses as cancer, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis,” stated Drug Channels Institute CEO Adam J. Fein, the study's author and a widely regarded expert on pharmacy economics and the pharmaceutical supply chain. “By 2018, 50% of industry revenues will come from specialty drugs,” Fein added. “Drug stores, hospitals, physician, wholesalers and health plans are all battling for position in this fast-growing market.”

The report, called "2013-14 Economic Report on Retail, Mail and Specialty Pharmacies," is a 185-page analysis of the $287 billion U.S. pharmacy industry with 98 proprietary charts, exhibits and data tables. What’s more, the institute analyzes how healthcare reform will affect pharmacies. It explores such factors as the healthcare coverage expansion, forthcoming Medicaid pharmacy reimbursement changes, the boom in narrow pharmacy networks for Medicare drug plans and unprecedented growth in the 340B drug discount program.