Report: U.S. prescription revenues reach $621 billion, remain highly consolidated with large PBMs.

MALVERN Pa., (March 19, 2024) — Drug Channels Institute (DCI), an HMP Global Company, today released its exclusive, in-depth analysis of U.S. pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). The new 2024 Economic Report on U.S. Pharmacies and Pharmacy Benefit Managers provides the most comprehensive, fact-based tool for understanding the entire U.S. drug pricing, reimbursement, and dispensing system.

“In 2023, pharmacy industry prescription dispensing revenues reached $621 billion, driven by accelerating prescriptions for anti-obesity GLP-1 agonist drugs and an expanding post-pandemic market,” said Drug Channels Institute President Adam J. Fein, Ph.D., the study’s author and a widely regarded expert on pharmaceutical economics and the drug distribution system. “Dispensing revenues remained highly concentrated with the largest pharmacy benefit manager-affiliated businesses. Meanwhile, the retail pharmacy shakeout continued, as the largest chains reduced their store count and smaller pharmacies exited the market.”

This unique, encyclopedic resource analyzes the crucial healthcare trends that will affect PBMs and pharmacies, including such topics as benefit designs, drug pricing, rebates, biosimilars, public policy, 340B Drug Pricing Program, and much more. This year’s report updates all market and industry data with the most current information available, including DCI’s exclusive analyses of the market positions of the largest pharmacies, specialty pharmacies, and PBMs.

Now in its 15th edition, the 2024 Economic Report on U.S. Pharmacies and Pharmacy Benefit Managers offers 262 proprietary charts, exhibits, and data tables. It contains the most current economic information about specialty drugs, market structure, reimbursement, pharmacy and PBM profits, manufacturer rebates, patients’ out-of-pocket expenses, industry trends, and more.

“The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) has begun to alter the Medicare Part D program and trigger changes in beneficiary out-of-pocket spending, drug prices, pharmacy economics, and market access strategies,” Fein added. “We project that the IRA’s impact will extend far beyond the Medicare program and spill over into many aspects of the overall commercial drug channel.”

To purchase and immediately download the new report, visit drugch.nl/pharmacy. To read a free report overview, visit drugch.nl/overview2024.

About Drug Channels Institute
Drug Channels Institute, an HMP Global Company, is a leading source of industry research about pharmaceutical economics and the drug distribution system. DCI helps its customers make sense of pharmaceutical economics and the increasingly complex pharmacy distribution and reimbursement system. To learn more about its products, visit drugchannelsinstitute.com. Access Dr. Fein’s popular Drug Channels blog at drugchannels.net.

About HMP Global
HMP Global is the omnichannel market leader in healthcare events, education, and insight — with a mission to improve patient care. For 40 years, the company has built trusted brands including Psych Congress, the premier source for mental health education, and the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC), the largest wound care meeting in the world. HMP Global partners with leading experts around the world to deliver more than 450 annual events, medical strategy and marketing for pharmaceutical and medical device customers through HMP Collective, and pharmaceutical market insight, engaging a global community of healthcare stakeholders that includes nearly 2 million clinicians across 600 medical specialties as well as managed care, behavioral health, senior living, emergency medical, and pharmaceutical commercialization professionals. For more information, visit hmpglobal.com.