Retail Prescription Drug costs: 1995 and 2007
| Drug Type | 1995 | 2007 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All prescriptions | $30.01 | $69.91 | |
| Brand drugs | $40.22 | $119.51 | |
| Generic drugs | $14.84 | $34.34 |
The average prescription drug cost is $69.91. Of that amount, the manufacturer receives $54.30, the wholesaler receives $2.44 and the retailer receives $13.17.
Ever wonder why over the last decade or so Wall Street gave a higher P/E ratio to Walgreens than most retailers received? If you guessed that it was because they were receiving, on average, 19% of the cost of prescription drugs, you get a gold star. Its also why Walmart selling generics for $4 killed Walgreens’ stock price.
All posts tagged Census
Jun 12, 2009
Brian Karpuk
U.S. pharmaceutical makers
spent $65.2 billion on R&D in 2008, nearly double the tally in 2002.
Novartis earned $9 billion in operating income on sales of $41.5 billion.
With patents on many older blockbusters starting to expire, the industry is poised to lose an estimated $140 billion in sales to generic competition over the next five years.
Jun 14, 2009
Mike Beacom
Maybe I’ll have to rethink my Merck buy I was I planning next week. Hmmmmm.
Aug 8, 2009
Keith
Hi,
Just wondering what the source was for this data. US Census???
Thanks
Aug 8, 2009
Brian Karpuk
Yeah, Census. http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/09statab/health.pdf
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