Rx Waste
Medication waste is hiding in plain sight
Billions of dollars’ worth of vital high-cost medications go to waste each year
Specialty Medication
Specialty medications represent >45% of the US pharma market
Sales of these specialty medications equal ~$220 billion
Access to high-cost specialty medications remains an intractable problem in healthcare
Problematic Factors
Specialty medicines offer significant benefit at high cost, and a previously uncharacterized risk of medication wastage
There is no existing mechanism to track the volume of wasted medications
Existing data sources reflect only the one-way “push” of medication via prescription claims, specialty pharmacy (SP) distribution, and medication possession ratio (MPR) information
These data sources do not capture extent of the problem or rationale(s) for medication waste
This gap creates a blind spot in healthcare spending and represents an opportunity to reduce costs arising from wasted specialty medications
Wasted Rx medication adds up
When people discontinue these medications, the waste piles up, leading to water contamination
Medication discontinuation contributes to the cascading costs of healthcare
Beyond the cost of wasted medication, healthcare costs can be as high as $50K and include
Additional clinical office visit(s)
Laboratory testing
Urgent care; ER visits; Hospitalization from de-stabilization of disease
The specialty medication supply chain is highly complex
Supply Chain
Specialty medication use starts with a prescription and ends with a patient
Along the Rx journey, a wide range of stakeholders play a role… from manufacturers and payer/insurer to specialty pharmacies and distributors. There are inefficiencies and hidden costs which can be difficult to untangle.
There is no simple solution to the cascading cost of healthcare.
One thing is clear: The magnitude of waste from unused specialty medications is staggering and primed for solutions.
Take action to reduce Rx waste
Multiple Sclerosis: Over 20 high-cost specialty medications
Closer look at MS
1 million people diagnosed in the US
15,000-18,000 newly diagnosed each year
20+ medications with 16 self-administered therapies
Rx market = $24 billion
~10% of Every MS Rx Goes to Waste
Value of Rx Waste = ~$2.4 Billion a year
Multiple sclerosis is a complex immune-mediated condition that can cause significant neurologic disability
Multiple sclerosis affects the central nervous system in which injured nerve cells in the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerve can lead to neurological deficits and permanent loss of function.
The waste generated from unused medication is enormous
Specialty medications for multiple sclerosis are known as disease modifying therapies (DMTs). DMTs are used to prevent acute neurological symptoms (relapses), new damage as seen on MRI (lesions), and reduce the risk of disability.
DMTs have been identified as the single greatest medical expenditure for people with multiple sclerosis. The increases in costs for these treatments has been identified to be 5-7 times higher annually than prescription drug inflation.
Uncovering unprecedented waste from high-cost specialty medications
The magnitude of unused DMTs from people with multiple sclerosis had never before been quantified. Dr. Okuda studied this problem among his own patients at the Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology Clinic at The University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center in Dallas, Texas.
In total, Dr. Okuda’s team collected >$30M dollars-worth of unused specialty medications in the field of multiple sclerosis, neuro-oncology, rheumatology, etc.