Neurology specialty drugs are expected to increase hospital pharmaceutical spend by 3.42 percent in 2024, according to a Vizient analysis.
Three of the five most expensive drugs used by Vizient's clients are specialty drugs — Humira (adalimumab), Stelara (ustekinumab), and Prolia and Xgeva denosumab (denosumab) — and two neurology drugs recently broke into the top 100 medications by member spend, Tecvayli (teclistamab) and Kimmtrak (tebentafusp).
In 2022, specialty drug costs made up 51 percent of hospital pharmaceutical spend. Some factors that are forecasted to lower these costs include Humira biosimilars; the falling use of COVID-19 treatment remdesivir; and Briumvi (ublituximab), the cheapest approved drug for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis.