Increasing usage of medicines, and the associated amount being spent, have become central issues in health policy and international trade discussions in recent years, including the potential reshaping of global markets and drug pricing that is being proposed by the U.S. administration. The policies many countries are pursuing are reshaping access, usage and pricing, with implications for hundreds of millions of patients globally. In addition, the continuation of historic trends in disease treatment and adoption of innovation result in a steady rise in the level of medicine use globally.

By the end of the decade, total usage is expected to approach 4 trillion defined daily doses, significantly expanding patient use of medicines globally. China has been the fastest growing market since 2020 and is expected to maintain this momentum, nearly doubling its usage relative to 2020 and reaching an index of 196 (against a baseline of 100 in 2020) by 2030. In contrast, higher income regions such as North America, Western Europe, and Japan are anticipated to grow more slowly, reflecting the stabilization typical of mature healthcare systems.

In this report, we examine the spending and usage of medicines in 2025 and the outlook to 2030, globally and for specific therapy areas and countries or regions. We intend to provide an evidence-based foundation for meaningful discussion by all stakeholders around the value, cost, and role of medicines over the next five years in the context of overall healthcare spending.

This annual trend reports explores key drivers behind annual spending and usage of medicines globally, and covers innovation, value, cost, and role of medicines expected in the years ahead in the context of overall healthcare spending.

Key Findings:

• Medicine use has increased:
• Total prescription medicine use increased 1.7%, reaching 215 billion days of therapy in 2024
• Medicare beneficiary use of medicines at an all-time high
• Some patients see out-of-pocket cost reductions:
• Fewer Medicare patients paid more than $3,500 in annual out-of-pocket costs as Medicare Part D redesign began
• Average insulin out-of-pocket costs have declined significantly due to $35 caps
• Patients continue to see barriers to medicine access:
• Over half of new prescriptions for novel medicines go unfilled largely due to benefit design and high costs
• Spending on medicines has accelerated: 
• The U.S. market at net prices grew 11.4% in 2024, up from 4.9% in 2023
• Greater use of medicines with significant clinical benefits is driving spending growth while net price growth is flat