Patients Curb Prescription Spending

Already Ailing, Drug Industry Takes Hit On Higher-Priced Brand Name Medicine By SHIRLEY S. WANG and AVERY JOHNSON July 16, 2008; Page B1, Wall Street Journal In an ominous sign for drug makers, the number of prescriptions dispensed by pharmacies in the U.S. is growing at its worst rate in at least a decade as consumers are squeezed by both a troubled economy and the growing burden of out-of-pocket health-care costs. The pharmaceutical industry by conventional wisdom is resistant to economic downturns, because people need medicine in good times and bad. But data from market researcher IMS Health and Wall Street analysts indicate that the rate of prescription growth has fallen steadily since early last year and in recent months has slipped in and out of negative territory.