A new report from Pharmaceutical Strategies Group finds that specialty drugs continue to be a top focus for plan sponsors, in part because they tend to be very expensive.
The drugs tend to also be highly complex and require special handling or administration, the report noted. At the same time, the drugs can have great value: extending life for some patients and keeping them productive and relatively healthy, even when conditions are not cured outright.
“Today, advances in drug therapy allow many patients living with conditions treated by specialty drugs to live decades longer than in the past,” the report said. “As a result, today, many specialty drugs are being used as long-term, chronic therapy for a significant portion of patients.”
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