The Dollars and Cents of ADHD
A press release just came out today - publicizing a report which is available for purchase about the nature of the pharmaceutical market in ADHD. The press release documents that the ADHD market is worth $3.85 billion per year, and will have a compound annual growth rate of 1.2% over the next 10 years. They document that the adult ADHD ‘market’ is largely untapped, and they predict that it will likely be twice as big as the pediatric ADHD market.
I have to say that I always have a mixed response when I read statistics like this.
On the negative side - this type of data makes it seems that the pharmaceutical companies are just trying to make sure that more prescriptions are written, and they see people with ADHD as just consumers of their drug and ‘dollars and cents’. Additionally, these data help to fuel the ‘ADHD nay-sayers’ to talk about how ‘over treated’ and ‘over medicated’ ADHD is. (I can hear them saying - ‘almost $4 billion dollars of drugs sold per year???’).
On the other side - this type of just report documents facts…
It’s been documented that it costs over $1 billion USD to bring a new medicine to market. The fact that there is a profit in the ADHD market - and an opportunity for companies to expand sales in the future - means that there will be more research and thus more new treatments introduced in the coming years.
This is ultimately good for people with ADD or ADHD.
New treatment options coming out in the future is a good thing…
In summary - although this type of statistic can be shocking to some - I believe it is important to know that it means that the pharma companies will be willing to invest new monies into ADHD research and treatments.
The danger here is how this statistic can be sensationalized, and how people can get too fixed on the ‘medication only’ treatment of ADHD.
Please remember that the best approach to treatment of ADHD is multimodal - meaning including medication with non-medication approaches (including behavioral therapy, parenting supports, academic/occupational support, coaching, alternative approaches, etc.).
To read a special report that I wrote about ADHD Medication, please visit: Medication Mastery.
Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Dr. Kenny
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Written by Dr. Kenny Handelman - The ADHD Doctor
To find get a FREE special report on ADD/ADHD Medication, visit: Medication Mastery
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June 19th, 2008 at 1:55 am
While this is very interesting - I feel like I still don’t have a handle on the big picture. Part of the problem is I think it is also necessary to see how much is being spent on other medical problems. This amount could be extremely high or extremely low and I wouldn’t know…..
Maureen
June 19th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
Good point Maureen - a comparison to the amount spent on other medications for other medical problems would certainly help put this in perspective.
It would be very interesting to know what portion of this profit will be put toward research on developing improved treatments.
June 19th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
I agree with Maureen … it is impossible to say “that is a lot” or “that is not much” without an idea of the incidence of ADHD in the population versus the population incidences of other diseases and related dollars spent. My understanding from working in the pharmaceutical industry years ago (in my previous life, before I had a son with PDD/ADHD …), the largest “market” for pharmaceuticals was cardiovascular disease and related issues … so before we listen to critics talk about “over medicating adhd”, let’s first focus on Canada’s much larger lifestyle issues of most Canadians. Before we listen to critics complain about ADHD meds, let them first get their own blood pressure down, lower their cholesterol, get to an ideal weight for their height, exercise regularly … so that they may give up their cholesterol lowering agents, diuretics, and so on.
Yes, drugs do cost a lot; however, like Dr. H. said, bringing drugs to market does cost a lot of money, and for every drug that succeeds, many fail … very compounds that start out in investigation ever become “blockbusters”. We do live in a capitalistic society, so there does need to be some type of financial incentive for companies to continue R&D. Not many new lifesaving compounds coming out of communist countries …
Lisa
June 20th, 2008 at 2:35 am
Two points:
1. The recent introduction of Vyvanse by Shire has been a great benefit to someone in my family. For her, it works better, lasts longer, is more palatable, and is more effective. So though it came out not coincidentally about the time the patent on Adderall XR expired, I don’t much care. I never mid when people (or companies) do well BY DOING GOOD.
Only one thing bothers me about it. Could it have been released earlier, or was it held back until its potential profits were maximized? I have no idea the answer, but that would be one of my few complaints in the pharmaceutical realm.
2. I have almost finished an article about AD/HD as an expensive disorder. It details a bunch of the ways it costs a person or family — not only financially, but in terms of time, trouble, headache, relationships frazzled, etc. Then I take one situation and describe in detail the hours spent and the financial costs to accomplish what is a recurring task.
To me, those costs are much more dear than any, because they truly eat up a person’s day, week and, eventually, life.
June 20th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I often hear that people with rare diseases cannot get the medicines the need at an affordable price because the pharma. companies will not benefit from producing small quanities of medications. It the predicication that the adult market for ADDH meds. will grow larger than the children’s market for the same drugs is true, then it seems the price of our medications might go down. As an adult with ADD, this would be a welcome decision. My empolyee chooses not to cover my ADD meds for me, and they cover 50% of my child’s ADDH medicication. I hope to hear more on this subject in the future.
June 20th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
In our money-driven world it is hard to decide or see the true meaning behind the $ that go into drugs, if it is for ADHD or cancer or HIV. Us, the parents of kids who need special looking after can only hope that the medication we are giving to our children (who mean world to us and we want them to get better and be happy) will do the desired job without damaging other organs in the body. For which other damaged organs we would need to feed them more medication which in turn would give the pharmaceutical companies more money…
It is really hard for me to believe, in this moment of my life, that people with money and power act in the best interest of others, of their health and welfare. It seems to me that our society is very much addicted to pills - you can find a pill for almost anything on the market.
I guess what I am saying is that I wish there was more choice available. That the natural, homeopathic, herbal medicines were as popular as the “common” medication. So we would actually be shown ALL the options and routes available to us and our children. And then we could freely make a choice and not be judged for the choice we would make.
June 20th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Well Dr.Handelman it is to bad that the companies make such a profit there not cheap but the medication has helped me out with the relationship with my wife as well my work performance with one of my jobs. Also it has improved my home life as well. Some people dont think so. But i sure do. Including my temper. If the companies would not charge so much people could afford them easier. I am lucky my insurance picks up alot of the tab. Plus also self teaching & recognizing the strenghts & weakness of the disorder does help. If you learn that you can learn the you can use it toward your advantage.