|
Drug sales see healthy '99
|
 |
August 30, 1999: 4:41 p.m. ET
Report says prescription drug sales to rise 18 percent, exceeding $121.6B
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Total retail prescription drug sales are expected to flex their muscles in 1999, rising 18 percent and exceeding a record $121.6 billion, an industry trade association said Monday.
The National Association of Chain Drug Stores also projected an 8 percent increase in the number of prescriptions dispensed in the retail pharmacy marketplace.
The association said some of the major factors contributing to the boost in prescription volume include increased use of prescription drugs, especially by the elderly, and new medicines that enable treatment of more serious illnesses outside hospitals.
Also, the expansion of managed care and its growing use of prescriptions is adding to overall use, as well as increased consumer awareness of drug therapy options from direct to consumer advertising by prescription drug makers and the availability of certain lifestyle enhancing medications.
Chain community pharmacy will account for nearly 63 percent of sales and will exceed $76.6 billion, up 22.6 percent from 1998.
Also, the group said, sales of over-the-counter medications in community pharmacies are expected to reach $32 billion in 1999, an 8.3 percent increase. OTC sales in chain pharmacies are expected to exceed $30.7 billion or 96 percent of OCT retail sales in stores with pharmacies.
The association projected 2.97 billion prescriptions would be dispensed by year end, with 1.87 billion coming from chain pharmacies, 1.2 billion from traditional chain drug stores, 302 million from mass merchant pharmacies and 355 million from supermarket chain pharmacies.
Looking ahead, the association projects continued growth in prescription volume will lead to about 4 billion prescriptions being dispensed by retail pharmacies.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
