Prescription Drugs Introduced to Market
In 2024, 40.4% of reported new drugs were introduced with a WAC greater than $1,000 (185 of 458 reports).
HCAI regularly releases to the public information and data visualizations on new prescription drugs introduced to market in California with a Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC) that exceeds the Medicare Part D specialty drug cost threshold.
- Learn more about the Prescription Drug Cost Transparency Program
- View other Prescription Drug Cost Transparency Public Reports
New Prescription Drugs by Price
- In calendar year 2024, 45% of reported new drugs were introduced with a WAC >$1,000 to $5000 (206 of 458 reports).
- In 2024, 40.4% of reported new drugs were introduced with a WAC greater than $1,000 (185 of 458 reports).
Note: The tooltip contains a box and whisker plot of the respective WAC Price Category, where each dot represents a submitted report.
New Prescription Drugs by Quarter/Year
- In Q3 2024, CTRx received the third-highest number of new drug reports in a single quarter since reporting to HCAI began in 2019 (143 reports).
- In Q3 2024, CTRx received the highest number of new drug reports in a single quarter for drugs with a WAC between $1,000 and $5,000 (72 reports).
Note: The tooltip contains a box and whisker plot for the respective quarter, where each dot represents a submitted report.
CTRx Term Definitions
Wholesale Acquisition Cost
Wholesale Acquisition Cost (WAC) is defined in the U.S. Code as “…the manufacturer’s list price for [a] drug or biological to wholesalers or direct purchasers in the United States, not including prompt pay or other discounts, rebates or reductions in price…”
National Drug Code (NDC)
The pharmaceuticals industry assigns a unique three-segment number, called the NDC, to each drug product manufactured and sold. NDCs must be provided to the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and are used for ordering, billing, inventory management, and recalls.
HCAI requires that relevant reporting uses the 11-digit format of the NDC. The three-segments of the format can be broken into the following:
The labeler code, also known as the manufacturer code, identifies who manufactures, repacks, or distributes a given drug product.
The product code identifies the drug, its strength, dosage form, and formulation specific to the firm that manufactures the given drug product.
The packaging code typically identifies the number of product units in the given product (package size), but also may indicate the type of packaging used.
How HCAI Created This Product
These visualizations were created using prescription drug data reported to HCAI by prescription drug manufacturers. For a detailed list of the new prescription drug data that HCAI collects, see the data format and file specifications.
Resources
Note:
- Not all new prescription drugs are required to be reported to HCAI – there are new prescription drugs that do not meet the statutory requirements for reporting, and new prescription drugs that do not meet the definition for reporting pursuant to HCAI Regulations and Section 321(g) of Title 21 of the United States Code.
- Some prescription drug manufacturers choose to report new prescription drugs that are introduced to market with a WAC that does not explicitly exceed the specified threshold, but that may exceed the pricing threshold when accounting for the combined price of a standard course of therapy.
- New drug reports that have been submitted to HCAI but that are still under review by HCAI staff are not included in the data and visualizations.
Additional Information
Topic: Cost Transparency
Source Link: Prescription Drugs Introduced to Market
Citation: HCAI – Prescription Drug Cost Transparency, New Drug 2019–2024
Temporal Coverage: 2019 – 2024
Spatial/Geographic Coverage: Statewide
Frequency: Annually