What meds are Canadians taking? Insights from Telus Health’s 2024 Drug Data Trends and National Benchmarks report

Diabetes drugs and devices were the most expensive drug category in the latest Telus Health Drug Data Trends & National Benchmarks report. The 2024 report said they grew to 15.4% in 2023, a jump from last year, when they were still in the top spot.That’s because the number of people with type 2 diabetes growing, with claimants nearly quadrupling between 2008 and 2023. But it’s also due to more expensive, newer diabetes therapies, which often cost more than $1,000 a year, and patients being more likely to start treatment on multiple drugs. “The proportion of patients starting treatment with two-drug combinations has almost doubled in the past few years, contributing to higher overall costs,” Vicky Lee, pharmacist and pharmacy consultant at TELUS Health, said in a press release. Newer diabetes devices, such as flash glucose monitors and continuous blood glucose monitors, also cost more than first-generation monitors. These costs add up: the average annual eligible amount per claimant for diabetes rose from $661 in 2008 to $1,574 in 2023. The blockbuster drug semaglutide, prescribed for type 2 diabetes and off-label for weight management, also added to the diabetes drugs’ rise. Inflammatory disease drugs were second, at 11.2%. They had spent more than a decade at the number one spot, even though they were taken by fewer than 1% of claimants. Lee says the lower percentages are primarily thanks to patients switching to biosimilars. “It’s a remarkable story both for patients’ health outcomes and the impact on private drug plans,” she said. That was followed by drugs for skin disorders, which grew to 7.9% in 2023. Read: Liberals take first step toward pharmacare with bill for birth control, diabetes medsADHD continues its rise, depression drops and moreDrugs for ADHD rose to the fourth most common at 5.8%, overtaking both asthma and depression and continuing a multiple year-over-year increase. That’s thanks to an increased number of claimants, from awareness of adult ADHD, broadened diagnostic criteria over the past decade, and pressures from the pandemic. Depression took the fifth spot at 5.5%, with one in five claimants being on an antidepressant by the end of 2023. Drugs for two common issues, asthma and high blood pressure, and three rarer ones, cancer, multiple sclerosis and cystic fibrosis, rounded out the top 10. Medical advances helped keep the latter three in the top 10. In oncology, more drugs are available orally and not given in hospitals, so private drug plans cover them. Trikafta, a new treatment for cystic fibrosis that was introduced in 2021, increased prices for that category, as the $163,000-a-year drug that can treat up to 90% of patients. The top 10 list is split between lower-cost, high-volume drugs, and high-cost, low-volume ones. “The list perfectly illustrates how drug development is evolving in opposite directions, yet both are equally important in terms of their impact on overall spend for private payors,” said Caroline Le Pottier, consultant pharmacist for TELUS Health.Drugs for weight management weren’t in the top 10 list, but Telus Health highlighted their likelihood for future growth. The highly anticipated Wegovy, and the potential for Zepbound to be introduced to the market next year, will help propel that, said Lee. Read: Weight-loss drugs like Wegovy are meant for long-term use. Some patients want to stopBiosimilar switching plans lower costsThe percentage of eligible amounts from specialty drugs has grown dramatically over the past 16 years, from 10.5% in 2008 to 31.2% in 2023, all while always staying below 2% of claimants. But the growth is slowing: it went down for the first time in 2022 and stayed flat in 2023. Lee credited the lower prices to switching policies towards biosimilars, which she said “are clearly having an impact.” She added, "The savings will continue for some time as more plans adopt switching and more reference biologics go off-patent.” Overall, generic drugs made up 67.5% of medications covered by private drug plans in 2023. Millennials overtake boomersOver half (58.7%) of insured people made at least one claim in 2023. The average annual eligible amount per claimant has grown across all ages between 2008 and 2023. The rates in the under-18 group grew from $205 to $468; the 20- to 44-year-old group rose from $422 to $845, and 45- to 64-year-olds rose from $987 to $1,424. Proportionally, the under-19 group now takes up more of the total eligible amount, at 9.9% (from 8% in 2008), while 20- to 44-year-olds take up 34.4% (up from 29.5%), and the amount for 45- to 64-year-olds has decreased, to 55.7% from 62.4%. The average age of insured people hasn’t changed much between 2008, when it was 41, and 2023, when it was 42. But the people in the groups have. In 2008, boomers made up the most of the workforce, as they were between 43 and 62. In 2023, millennials, who are now between 27 and 42, are the largest working-age cohort. Read: New online healthcare professional handbook on biosimilar biologic drugs

What meds are Canadians taking? Insights from Telus Health’s 2024 Drug Data Trends and National Benchmarks report

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