This statistic shows the results of a survey conducted in the United States in February 2017. U.S. adults were asked if they had the impression that they were prescribed a drug that was a more expensive option than a cheaper drug with the same effect. In total, * percent of participants thought that they were always prescribed a drug that was more expensive, and ** percent thought they were rarely prescribed a drug that was more expensive.

In 2022, the brand prescription drugs in the United States were the most expensive in the OECD countries, being over *** times more expensive than in Japan (or *** percent of the price in Japan). In general, the price of branded U.S. prescription drugs was, on average, over *** times more expensive than in other OECD countries.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimate that prescription drug expenditure in the United States will reach around 460 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. This amount includes only retail drug spending, excluding nonretail. Estimations of drug spending can vary by investigating organization. For the U.S., among the most relevant drug spending calculations are provided by CMS, ASPE (Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation), and pharmaceutical market researcher IQVIA. High drug prices in the U.S.The United States is the country with the highest total drug spending, and also with the highest per capita pharmaceuticals spending among developed countries. This is mostly connected to higher drug prices in the United States. For example, the price for the blockbuster drug Humira was almost three times higher in the United States than in Germany in 2017. But whereas in other countries, governments more or less directly control drug prices, the U.S. leaves drug pricing to market competition. As a consequence, the U.S. market is the most profitable for pharmaceutical companies. Where the money is spentNearly half of all Americans have taken at least one prescription medicine within the preceding month. The therapeutic areas where spending is the highest are ‘traditionally’ to be found among antidiabetics, oncologics, autoimmune, and respiratory diseases. Based on number of prescriptions filled, antihypertensives, pain reliever, and mental health drugs are the leading classes.

In the United States, the total non-discounted spending on medicines reached approximately *** billion U.S. dollars in 2023. Spending increased each year between 2012 and 2023. How are drugs categorized in the United States? Sales of brand name drugs accounted for nearly an ** percent share of the money spent on medicines in the United States in 2023. Humira was the medicine that generated the most sales revenue until 2021, making over ** billion U.S. dollars per year. Drugs can be categorized in various ways, but one common method is to group them by therapeutic use, i.e., by the type of condition they are used to treating. Antidiabetics continues to be one of the categories where the most money is spent in the United States. What is Humira used for? Humira is a drug used to reduce the signs and symptoms of a number of autoimmune diseases in adults, such as rheumatoid arthritis. The drug, manufactured by the company AbbVie, was the leading pharmaceutical product worldwide based on sales before the COVID-19 vaccines entered the market. Sales of Humira account for a disproportional large chunk of AbbVie’s total revenue. The prescription drug is given by an injection under the skin, and two kits of the Humira Pen (** mg) cost an average of ***** U.S. dollars in the United States in 2017, which was far more expensive than other selected countries.

This statistic shows the results of a survey conducted in the United States in February 2017, by gender. U.S. adults were asked if they believe they were prescribed a more expensive version of a drug even though a cheaper one was available that had the same effect. In total, 6 percent of female respondents and 9 percent of male respondents believe they were always given a more expensive version of a drug.

In the United States, approximately *** billion U.S. dollars was spent on medicines in 2022. Nearly ** percent of this figure was spent on generic drugs, with sales of branded generics and unbranded generics accounting for ***** percent and *** percent, respectively. Why are branded drugs more expensive? Sales of brand name drugs account for some ** percent of the total amount of money spent on medicines in the United States in 2023. One explanation for this large share is that brand name drugs can cost considerably more than generic versions. When a pharmaceutical company is granted a patent for a drug, key processes and active ingredients are protected; this exclusivity allows firms to price a product at what the market will bear. The brand name drug Humira was, and is, marketed at a high price in the United States. Sales of this drug generated around ** billion U.S. dollars per year until 2022. What’s in a name? Knowing your medication types A brand name drug is manufactured and marketed by a pharmaceutical company that owns the patent. When the patent expires, it is common for generic drugs to enter the market. These are almost identical versions of the brand name drug but are developed by competitors. Generic drugs are often sold under its chemical name but can also be assigned new brand names. If the latter is the case, the drug becomes known as branded generic.

Although there was variation in price between select multiple sclerosis drugs, in all cases the U.S. price per dose was higher than the average of the 11 other countries in this analysis. Avonex, was over 1,400 U.S. dollars more expensive in the U.S. compared to the non-U.S. average price.

According to a study conducted in 2024, Peru had the lowest avearge price for medicines among seven selected countries in Latin America. From all categories, medicines for musculoskeletal ailments were the most expensive, with an average of **** U.S. dollars. In contrast, medications for cardiovascular ailments had an average price of around **** U.S. dollars.

This statistic displays the patented drug average price ratio of foreign to Canada, as of 2023. The ratio of prices in the United States to Canada was ****, which indicates that the prices of patented drugs in the United States were more than **************** times higher than in Canada.

A recent consumer survey found that over ************ of U.S. adults considered automated prescription reminders to be the most valuable pharmacy service in 2024. Home delivery of prescriptions was another highly sought-after service, with more than half of the survey respondents. Approximately a quarter of the survey respondents favored the ability to schedule an online appointment with a pharmacist.

According to a study conducted in 2024, Chile had the an average price of medicines when compared to seven selected countries in Latin America. From all categories, medicines for neurological ailments were the most expensive, with an average of **** U.S. dollars. In contrast, medications for unintentional injuries had an average price of around **** U.S. dollars.

According to a study conducted in 2024, Ecuador had one of the lowest prices of medicines among ***** selected countries in Latin America. From all categories, medicines for musculoskeletal ailments were the most expensive, with an average of ** U.S. dollars. In contrast, medications for unintentional injuries had an average price of around **** U.S. dollars.

The United States was the largest national pharmaceutical market in 2024, making up around 53 percent of the total pharmaceutical prescription drug market worldwide. China is the second-largest market, with a market share of nearly eight percent (however, including only the hospital market). International differences in drug prices The worldwide pharmaceutical market was valued at approximately 1.7 trillion U.S. dollars in 2024, including both, prescription and nonprescription drugs. Sales of Rx pharmaceuticals in the United States generated around 800 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. One reason for the disparity between countries is the price of prescription medications: in the United States, the prices of branded drugs increased, for example, significantly between 2011 and 2019. Many pharmaceutical manufacturers argue that prices need to be raised to not only recoup research costs, but also to maintain profit margins because of the larger rebates negotiated by pharmacy benefits managers. Prescription drug prices are a bitter pill to swallow With an average spend of 1,564 U.S. dollars per person, the United States had the highest pharmaceutical spending per capita worldwide in 2023. Brand name medications are particularly expensive in the country: the average price of Humira in the United States is far higher than in other markets. Branded drugs enjoy the protection of patents, and the lack of competition means both manufacturers and pharmacies can charge what the market will bear.

In the fiscal year 2025, Medicaid pays hospices ****** U.S. dollars per day (for the first ** days) for routine home care. Routine home care, the most common level of hospice care, is also the least expensive. Meanwhile, continuous home care is the most expensive at ***** U.S. dollars per day for ** hours of care. If one qualifies for Medicare and pays the monthly premium, there are generally no other out-of-pocket costs for hospice services. There is some co-payment for certain prescription drugs and **** percent for inpatient respite care. Medicare does not cover room and board in a care facility.

U.S. multinational company Johnson & Johnson maintained its position as the world’s most valuable pharmaceutical brand in 2025. The company’s brand value was estimated at **** billion U.S. dollars, a brand value growth of ** percent compared to the previous year. Swiss company Roche was ranked third with a brand value of *** billion dollars. Competition from generics is a cause for concern Roche continues to face competition at the top in the battle to become the most valuable pharmaceutical brand. Sales in the United States decreased as a share of total revenues from over ** percent in 2019 to around ** percent in 2022. However, there was an increase to nearly ** percent in 2024. Worldwide sales of its branded drug Herceptin decreased over the last years. Growth through mergers and acquisitions Roche has increased its research and development expenditure each year since 2011. Creating groundbreaking treatments is one way of maintaining the company’s status as one of the most valuable pharmaceutical brand, but another method is to increase market share through mergers and acquisitions. Companies are increasingly using this strategy as a way of limiting the impact of falling revenues caused when cheaper generics are made available to consumers. Roche’s acquisition of Foundation Medicine in 2018 was an indication of the company’s plans to gain a competitive advantage.

As of early March 2025, Eli Lilly had a market cap of over *** billion U.S. dollars and thus was the leader among big pharma companies based on market capitalization. The massive rise of Eli Lilly's market value, which started in 2023, is based in a large part on its strong pipeline. This statistic depicts the top 10 biotech and pharmaceutical companies worldwide based on market capitalization as of 2025. Biotech and pharmaceutical companiesPharmaceutical companies are best known for manufacturing pharmaceutical drugs. These drugs have the aim to diagnose, to cure, to treat, or to prevent diseases. The pharmaceutical sector represents a huge industry, with the global pharmaceutical market being worth more than *** trillion U.S. dollars. Among the best known top global pharmaceutical players are Pfizer, Merck and Johnson & Johnson from the U.S., Novartis and Roche from Switzerland, Sanofi from France, etc. Most of these companies are involved not only in pure pharmaceutical business, but also manufacture medical technology and consumer health products, vaccines, etc. For example, Johnson & Johnson makes most of its revenues through medical devices, diagnostics and consumer health products. There are both pure play biotechnology companies and pharmaceutical companies which, among other products, also produce biotech products within their biotechnological divisions. Most of the leading global pharmaceutical companies have biopharmaceutical divisions. Although not a pure play biotech firm, Roche from Switzerland is among the leaders by revenues from biotech therapies worldwide. In contrast, California-based company Amgen is the world’s largest pure-play biotech company. Amgen made over ** billion U.S. dollars of revenue in 2024. Biotech companies use biotechnology to generate their products, most often medical drugs or agricultural genetic engineering. The latter segment was dominated by Monsanto, nowadays a part of Bayer CropScience. The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity defines biotechnology as follows: "Any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use." In fact, biotechnology is thousands of years old, used in agriculture, food manufacturing and medicine.

In 2022, crystalline methamphetamine was the most expensive type of drug sold in retail in the Philippines. That year, this drug had a retail price of ***** U.S. dollars per gram. In comparison, cocaine was sold at **** U.S. dollars per gram.

The public and private per capita health expenditure differs significantly by country. As of 2024, the United States had by far the highest public per capita spending worldwide. Moreover, the U.S. had the second-highest private expenditure on health globally, just after Switzerland. Health expenditures globally Health expenditures include the consumption of health goods, services and public health programs as well as insurance and government spending. Globally, health expenditures are on the rise. Among all countries, the average per capita health expenditure is projected to see an increase of over 30 percent from the 2019 totals by the year 2050. Despite the growing expenditures, there are still countries with relatively low health expenditures. The countries with the lowest governmental health expenditure include South Sudan, Eritrea and Bangladesh. Health expenditures spotlight: the U.S. In 2023 the U.S. national health expenditure was at an all-time high. However, the projections indicate that total health expenditures will increase even more. The per capita health expenditures for the U.S. looked equally grim, with 2023 being the most expensive year for health care on record.

As of early 2024, the largest deal in pharmaceutical industry history was Pfizer’s acquisition of Warner-Lambert for nearly ** billion U.S. dollars in 2000. A further two deals in the rankings involve the American company Pfizer: its acquisitions of rival firms Pharmacia (2002) and Wyeth (2009). No M&A deal from the ***** made it into the top list so far. The most recent big deals were the acquisitions of Allergan by AbbVie and of Celgene by Bristol-Myers Squibb, both in 2019. In 2023, the largest biopharma M&A deal was the acquisition of Seagen by Pfizer, valued at around ** billion U.S. dollars. However, this deal still did not make it into the all-time top 10 of biggest pharma deals. Deals that reshaped the pharma industry The year 2000 was a significant one in the pharmaceutical industry. The merger of SmithKline Beecham and GlaxoWellcome was completed at the end of the year and created a pharmaceutical giant to compete with Pfizer. Rising research and development (R&D) costs were one reason for such mega-mergers – the R&D expenditure of companies based in the United States increased by approximately ** billion U.S. dollars between 1995 and 2000. In the race to develop new drugs, companies searched for merger partners so that R&D budgets could be combined. Pfizer believes in the power of advertising Pfizer is ranked as one of the world’s most valuable pharmaceutical brands. The company continues to invest large sums of money into advertising its products to consumers. One of the company’s best-known products is Viagra, which entered the market in 1998 and quickly became one of the most heavily advertised products in the pharmaceutical industry.

In 2024, the United States had the ******* per capita health expenditure among OECD countries. At that time, per capita health expenditure in the U.S. amounted over ******** U.S. dollars, significantly higher than in Switzerland, the country with the ************** per capita health expenditure. Norway, Germany and, the Netherlands are also within the top five countries with the highest per capita health expenditure. The United States also spent the highest share of it’s gross domestic product on health care, with **** percent of its GDP spent on health care services. Health Expenditure in the U.S. The United States is the highest spending country worldwide when it comes to health care. In 2023, total health expenditure in the U.S. came close to **** trillion dollars. Expenditure as a percentage of GDP is projected to increase to approximately ** percent by the year 2033. Distribution of Health Expenditure in the U.S. Health expenditure in the United States is spread out across multiple categories such as nursing home facilities, home health care, and prescription drugs. As of 2023, the majority of health expenditure in the United States was spent on hospital care, accounting for a bit less than *** third of all health spending. Hospital care was followed by spending on physician and clinical services which accounted for ** percent of overall health expenditure.