Americans spent a record $374 billion on prescription drugs last year — mostly thanks to one drug

A new report from the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, an industry research firm, has revealed that U.S. spending on prescription drugs jumped by 13 percent last year.

In 2014, Americans spent $374 billion on prescription drugs. That figure is due, in part, to a new drug for hepatitis C, which costs more than $80,000 per patient for 12 weeks of treatment. The innovative Hepatitis C treatment, Sovaldi, was the top-selling drug in America last year. The hepatitis C drugs, manufactured by Gilead Sciences, accounted for more than $11 billion of U.S. prescription drug spending.

The Los Angeles Times explains that before Sovaldi became available, patients with hepatitis C weren't receiving treatment for the virus. Experts predict that future years won't see jumps in prescription use as drastic as the one in 2014, since last year marked Sovaldi's first full year on the market. The IMS Health researchers also believe that when Gilead's competitors release hepatitis C treatments, the cost of Sovaldi will drop to $50,000 or less.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Other popular prescriptions in the U.S. included the antipsychotic Abilify and the rheumatoid arthritis prescription Humira. Spending on multiple sclerosis treatments also rose 24.4 percent last year, accounting for $13.9 billion in prescription drug spending.