Recent Growth Increases Size Of The Specialty Pharmaceutical Market To Approximately $22 Billion

(PRWEB) October 8, 2004 -- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com) has announced the addition of Specialty Pharmacies Market Overview to their offering

Specialty pharmaceuticals are generally expensive, injectable therapies used to treat patients with chronic illness. These illness range from common illnesses that affect large patient populations serviced by multiple drugs, such as HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and cancer to so-called "orphan" diseases serviced by a single therapy, such as growth hormones. Specialty pharmaceutical's annual costs may range from $10,000 to $250,000. Part of the reason these specialty pharmaceuticals cost so much is that they are generally developed to serve a relatively small population of patients, most of whom have progressively severe diseases that they are unable to live normal lives. IMS Health estimates the size of the specialty pharmaceutical market at approximately $22 billion. The specialty pharmacy distribution share of this market is approximately $7 billion.

Seventy-five percent of specialty drug spending is among the following five categories: oncology, HIV/AIDS, renal disease, transplant (anti-rejection) medications and hemophilia. Pharmacy benefit managers are rushing to enter the specialty pharmacy market, as payers are beginning to cover more injectable drugs, biotech drugs, and other high-tech, high-cost products under the pharmacy benefit. Knowledge Source's Specialty Pharmacies Market Overview, 170 pages in length, includes the Industry's Overview and Trends, as well as profiles of over thirty of the major industry participants.

Industry Overview/Trends - pgs. 5-25
Accredo Health - pgs. 27-33
AdvancePCS - pgs. 34-43
AmerisourceBergen -- pgs. 44-48
Anthem Prescription Management -- pgs. 49-51
Biologics -- pgs. 52-53
BioPlus -- pg. 54
Cardinal Health -- pgs. 55-58
Caremark Rx - pgs. 59-68
Chronimed -- pgs. 69-72
CuraScript Pharmacy -- pgs. 73-76
Curative Health Services -- pgs. 77-81
CVS ProCare Specialty Services -- pgs. 82-87
Eckerd Health Services -- pgs. 88-92
Express Scripts - pgs. 93-99
Fishers SPS/Medmark - pgs. 100-101
Galloway Pharmacy -- pg. 102
ivpcare - pgs. 103-105
MaxorPlus - pgs. 106-107
McKesson -- pgs. 108-111
MedImpact Healthcare Systems - pgs. 112-114
Medco Health Solutions - pgs. 115-120
MIM/ScripSolutions- pgs. 121-130
NMHCRX - pgs. 131-133
Option Care - pgs. 134-137
Park Pharmacy - pgs. 138-140
Pharmacy Services Group - pg. 141-142
Prescription Solutions/PacifiCare - pgs. 143-148
Prime Therapeutics - pgs. 149-151
Priority Healthcare - pgs. 152-158
Script Care -- pg. 159
Walgreens Health Initiatives - pgs. 160-166
WellPoint Pharmacy Management -- pgs. 167-171
Sources -- pg. 172

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