In the United States, Medicare is the name given to the health insurance program. It is a state-governed health insurance for people who are aged 65 and over, who have certain disabilities and who meet other special criteria. Medicare is an umbrella for several types of insurance, including hospital insurance for inpatient care at hospitals, medical insurance covering doctors' services and prescription drug coverage. As of January 1st, 2006, the Medicare prescription drug coverage is available to anyone with Medicare coverage. By June of 2006, there were more than 38 million beneficiaries who had some form of prescription drug coverage.
Changes in the drug coverage program effectively increased the amount of prescription drugs dispensed in the United States. In 2005, the sales of prescription drugs were increasing at a rate of 3.2%. In 2006, the rate of growth of the market had swelled to 4.6%. This growth is partially attributed to the volume of drugs that is now prescribed to previously uninsured and underinsured patients. These patients now benefit from greater access to drugs needed to improve health and quality of life at a more affordable cost.
Welichem Biotech Inc., is on the verge of releasing WBI-1001 (a drug treatment for psoriasis that takes the form of a cream that can be applied topically) into clinical trials and then into this very robust market. This market had an estimated worth of $274.8 billion US in 2006, with an overall increase (not just an increase in the market growth rate) of 8.3% in the same year. IMS Health, an international consulting and data services company that supplies the pharmaceutical industry with sales data and consulting services, predicts that prescription drug sales growth will decrease slightly in 2007 but will retain in the 6 – 9% compounded annual growth until at least 2010.
As WBI-1001 is approaching Phase I of clinical trials and WBI-2100 is being tested and refined, Welichem is very excited about what the future has in store. Welichem is confident that both WBI-1001, which have advantages over biologics which need to be injected and WBI-2100 which has been shown to inhibit tumor growth will be well received by their respective patient groups. With the strong economy and strong demand for prescription medicine, these two drug lines will be given an excellent opportunity to thrive.
Source of Information: Biotech 2007 Life Sciences: A Global Transformation: 21st Annual Report on the Industry. San Francisco : Burrill Life Sciences Media Group LLC, 2007
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. "Medicare Program – General Information: Overview." Dec. 2005. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 14 May 2007.
June 2007
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