Spending on drugs in the United States expected to grow again next year after falling

NEW YORK — Global spending on drugs will pass the $1 trillion mark next year, according to a new study by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, a division of healthcare market analysis firm IMS Health.

The report, "The Global Use of Medicines: Outlook through 2017," released Tuesday, forecasts $1.2 billion in sales four years from now. The report covers the United States, Japan, China and the top five markets in the European Union.

The United States, according to the report, will see resumed increases in spending on drugs next year, after seeing reductions in spending over the past couple of years, as access to health care expands and the number of expirations of branded drug patents taper off.

In developed markets, numerous specialty drug classes — for such conditions as cancer, autoimmune diseases, respiratory diseases, immune system disorders, chronic viral infections and organ transplants — will see strong spending in 2017, particularly cancer drugs, which will have sales of $74-84 billion. Among primary-care drugs, diabetes drugs are at the top, with expected sales of $34-39 billion.

Overall, the United States will account for 31% of spending on drugs in 2017, compared with 34% last year.