U.S. Drug Spending Rose 8.5 Percent in 2015

The emergence of new brands helped drive U.S. drug spending last year to $310 billion — an 8.5 percent rise over 2014.

Driving this growth, at least in part, are new active substances, according to research released last week by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics.

Last year saw 43 new active substances launched, one-third of which garnered orphan designation. Thirty additional brands launched in 2015 were not new substances, but combination therapies, alternative dosing or treatment administration options.