Gilead’s COVID-19 therapy beats AbbVie’s Humira to lead U.S. hospital spending in 2021
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Gileadâs (NASDAQ:GILD) COVID-19 therapy remdesivir has claimed the top spot, overtaking AbbVieâs (NYSE:ABBV) anti-inflammatory medication Humira in a list of drugs compiled by the purchasing group Vizient Inc, based on the spending of its member hospitals.
From October 2020 to September 2021, remdesivir made up about 3.4% or $1B of total member spending among all therapeutics analyzed by the firm, used by nearly half of the U.S. hospitals.
âBefore COVID, we anticipated adalimumab would remain the top drug by total spend until biosimilars are introduced to bring in competition in 2023,â remarked Dan Kistner, Vizient groupâs senior vice president for pharmacy, referring to the generic name of Humira.
âThat remdesivir replaced it as the No. 1 drug in total member spend across all classes of trade reflects how COVID has impacted hospitals and the unanticipated costs to their budgets.â
Meanwhile, Tocilizumab, another FDA-authorized COVID-19 therapy marketed by Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY)/ Chugai (OTCPK:CHGCF)
(OTCPK:CHGCY), was ranked among the top 10 drugs for the first time, earning the 10th position based on overall drug spending. 
Thanks to a slew of FDA approvals for as many as 20 different cancers, Merckâs (NYSE:MRK) immunotherapy, pembrolizumab (Keytruda), led the category of checkpoint inhibitors, making up about 12% of total spending.
According to the semi-annual report, U.S. drug prices are projected to increase by ~3.1% from July 2022 through June 2023.
Read which pharmaceuticals will dominate the healthcare market in 2022, according to Evaluate Vantage.