Specialty drugs get more expensive

Wall Street Journal Health Blog, September 26, 2008

Specialty drugs—often sold by biotech companies, and used to treat complex conditions such as cancer—are some of the most expensive medicines on the market, and their prices are rising much faster than inflation, and even faster than the prices of other prescription drugs. Last year, the wholesale price of specialty drugs rose 8.7%, three times the rate of inflation, while non-specialty, branded drugs rose 7.4%, and the price of generic drugs fell by 9.6%.