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FACTBOOK
The Facts, Figures and Trends in Healthcare (2022–2023)
SPONSORED BY
Gold
Silver
Bronze
The HDA Research Foundation is pleased to release the 93rd Edition HDA Factbook: The Facts,
Figures & Trends in Healthcare (2022–2023), a leading reference tool for the healthcare distribution
industry. Since its debut in 1929, this resource has provided trusted benchmarks and trends for the
pharmaceutical supply chain.
The Factbook highlights the amazing efficiency inherent in the delivery of millions of healthcare products
to pharmacies and providers, with the latest edition detailing the complexity and strength of the
traditional pharmaceutical distribution market. In 2021, approximately 94 percent of all pharmaceutical
sales traveled through distributors, with more than 11 million units picked per day. Pharmaceutical sales
through traditional distribution grew, reaching $598.7 billion. Further, the growth rate of the sector hit a
record high of 9.4 percent in 2021. Inflation likely boosted the year’s growth, which outpaced the
10-year average of 6 percent. But despite better than average growth, distributor margins slid for a
seventh consecutive year.
Chain drug stores comprised 46 percent of customer volume, followed by hospitals and HMOs (18
percent). The market segments that experienced the most growth in 2021 included brand name
prescription products (55 percent) and specialty brand name prescription products (34 percent).
The Foundation is grateful to all who participated in the 2022 surveys and to the following companies,
whose sponsorship made the 93rd Edition of the Factbook possible:
Gold: Apotex Corp and Real Value Rx dba Hospital Pharmaceutical Consulting
Silver: Regeneron
Bronze Sponsors: Ascend Laboratories, LLC, IQVIA, Johnson & Johnson Health Care
Systems Inc., Pharmacy First and Teva Pharmaceuticals
Sincerely,
Perry Fri
Executive Vice President and COO
HDA Research Foundation
Publication Manager
Rachel Newman, Associate Director
HDA Research Foundation
Questions/Comments
Inquiries and feedback regarding the HDA Factbook are welcome. Please contact Rachel Newman,
Associate Director, HDA Research Foundation, at [email protected].
The HDA Research Foundation is the 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization of the Healthcare
Distribution Alliance (HDA). The Foundation serves as the thought leader in driving research,
education and discussion for all healthcare supply chain stakeholders, enabling the industry’s ability to
deliver efficient, safe and secure patient access to medicines and medical products. Learn more at
www.HDA.org/Foundation.
ISBN: 979-8-9850427-4-0
Finance Operations
Section Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Section Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Table 11: Distributor Profitability (FIFO Results): 2019-2021. . . . . . . 9 Table 45: Distributor Supply Chain Management
Table 12: Distributor Return on Investment Model Agreements: 2019-2021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
(FIFO Results): 2019-2021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Table 46: Distributor Software Applications: 2019-2021. . . . . . . . . 29
Table 13: Distributor Income Statement: 2019-2021 . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Table 47: Returns: 2019-2021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Table 14: Distributor Company Expense Statement: Table 48: Returns from Customers to Distributors: 2019-2021. . . . 31
2019-2021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Table 49: Returned Goods Practices for Distributors: 2019-2021. . 31
Table 15: Distributor Capital Expenditures: 2019-2021 . . . . . . . . . 11 Table 50: Reasons Goods are Returned to Distributors:
Table 16: Distributor Company Personnel Expenditures: 2019-2021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2019-2021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Table 51: Reasons Goods are Returned to Manufacturers:
Table 17: Distributor Asset Management: 2019-2021. . . . . . . . . . . 12 2020-2021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Table 18: Distributor Company Asset Ratios: 2019-2021. . . . . . . . 12 Table 52: Recalled/Withdrawn Prescription Products
Table 19: Distributor Company Credit Memos: 2019-2021 . . . . . . 12 Handled by Distributors: 2019-2021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Administration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Table 53: Number of Manufacturers/Suppliers: 2019-2021. . . . . . 33
Table 20: Due Diligence: 2021 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Table 54: Distributor Human Resources: 2021 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Table 21: Distributor Minimum Orders: 2021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Table 55: Companies Handling Temperature-Sensitive, Controlled .
Table 22: Distributor Chargeback Profile: 2019-2021. . . . . . . . . . . 13 Substances and Hazardous Prescription SKUs: 2020-2021. . . . . 34
Table 23: Frequency of Chargeback Submissions to Table 56: Cold Chain Distribution: 2020-2021 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Manufacturers: 2020-2021 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Table 57: Special Handling Rx SKUs: Branded & Generic:
Table 24: Chargebacks Denied: 2020-2021 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 2020-2021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Table 25: Sales per Distributor: 2020-2021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Table 58: Over-the-Counter (OTC) Medicines: 2021. . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Table 26: Distributor Inventory Levels—Number of SKUs: Table 59: Distributors Handling Temperature-Sensitive,
2020-2021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Controlled Substances and Hazardous Over-the-Counter
Table 27: Distributor Company Customer Ordering (OTC) SKUs: 2020-2021 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Practices: 2021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Table 60: Health and Personal Care (HPC) Items: 2021 . . . . . . . . . 36
Table 28: Distributor Personnel Productivity: 2020-2021 . . . . . . . . 15 Table 61: Durable Medical Equipment (DME) and Home
Table 29: Base Salary Adjustments: 2021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Healthcare: 2021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Table 62: General Merchandise (GM): 2021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Table 63: Distributor Specialty Products: 2021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Table 64: Distributor Other Product Categories: 2021. . . . . . . . . . 38
Table 65: Distributor Order Characteristics: 2020-2021. . . . . . . . . 38
Table 66: Order Fulfillment: 2021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Table 67: Customer Accounts and Shipping Points Serviced
by Company: 2021. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Table 68: Distributor Product Delivery Methods: 2020-2021 . . . . . 39
Table 69: Deliveries per Week of Prescription Products: 2021.. . . . 39
Appendix
Acknowledgements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Glossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Real Value Rx services 5000 independent pharmacies with next day delivery. We
offer best in class customer experience to help preserve the independent pharmacist
who has patient care at the forefront. Our customers deliver medications to every
corner of this country and are considered America’s largest FRONT LINE healthcare
providers and have the most connection to each community they serve as part of a
larger healthcare team.
SILVER
BRONZE
Ascend Labs has marketed itself since 2008. A division of India’s Alkem Labs
Ascend was formed originally as a product development company and ultimately
acquired by Alkem in 2012. Ascend continues to market several of its originally
developed products and today relies upon Alkem’s significant and robust R&D
and Regulatory group to submit on average 10-12 new ANDA submissions to FDA
annually. Marketing over 80 molecules now and combining a strong sales team and
manufacturing assets in both India and the US, Ascend is recognized today as one
of the fastest growing generic companies and one that places a strong emphasis on
both service and efficiency.
The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson address some of the
most devastating and complex diseases faced in our time. With advanced biologic
and other treatments, Janssen is investing in a transformative future, changing the
way diseases are prevented, intercepted, treated and cured.
93rd Edition HDA Factbook: The Facts, Figures & Trends in Healthcare (2022-2023)
The HDA Factbook is an easy-to-use reference guide featuring descriptive data tables on the traditional
pharmaceutical distribution industry. The Factbook offers original data from the HDA Research Foundation’s
annual surveys. Additional secondary data come from other leading healthcare industry organizations.
Information tables are organized into eight sections, each with a brief synopsis highlighting important trends
and performance metrics. A User’s Guide also is included to facilitate readers’ easy retrieval of relevant data.
Methodology
The information provided in the Foundation’s data tables is collected from annual surveys sent to all
Healthcare Distribution Alliance (HDA) traditional primary distributor members. The data are reported solely at
the corporate level. The full sample represents a spectrum of pharmaceutical companies from distributors with
a focused product portfolio and targeted customers to national distributors serving customers with multiple
outlets. Traditional distributors supply pharmaceuticals to primarily chain warehouses, chain and independent
pharmacies, hospitals, clinics, HMOs, nursing homes and mail-order entities.
To compile the information for this Factbook, distributors are requested by the Foundation to complete the
following surveys:
Some measures relating to information technology adoption include responses from distributors with annual
sales less than $1 billion. Whenever this is the case, it is noted in the table.
1. Distributor Demographics and Characteristics: This section contains tables that illustrate healthcare
distributors’ and distribution centers’ characteristics.
2. Finance: This section includes detailed financial measurements at the corporate level.
• Administration: This subsection is focused on administrative agreements.
3. Information Systems: This section contains tables that display trends on the industry’s rate of technology
adoption and use, and includes tables that depict industry use of the following:
• Electronic Data Interchange (EDI);
• Electronic commerce (e-commerce);
• Barcoding; and,
• Serialization.
4. Operations: This section provides measures of distributor operating efficiency at the corporate level,
which includes data on how orders are picked and processed.
• Special Handling: This subsection includes information regarding the processes by which distributors
at the corporate level accommodate products with special handling requirements.
5. Healthcare Products: This section contains a number of different market statistics for both general and
discrete products handled by the healthcare supply chain, and includes tables that illustrate industry use
of the following:
• Prescription products;
• Non-prescription products; and,
• New medications.
6. Customers: This section provides market information from distributors about retail and
institutional purchasers.
7. Market Characteristics: This section examines the overall U.S. healthcare market, and includes data on
payers, utilization and market performance of top pharmaceutical manufacturers.
• Healthcare Overview: This subsection explores U.S. healthcare expenditures and
payment methods.
• Prescription Use: This subsection includes tables that show trends in prescriptions dispensed
and medication usage.
• Pharmaceutical Companies: This subsection includes detailed information on the top
healthcare manufacturers.
8. International: This section is focused on global healthcare trends as they relate to pharmaceutical
distribution markets.
Weighted Averages: The weighted average includes data from all respondents but is adjusted to reflect the
relative size of each company.
IQVIA: Information provided by IQVIA (formerly QuintilesIMS Health) has been collected either at the retail
level or at the manufacturer level. As a result, tables reflect final sales, consumer measures or sales at the
manufacturer level, as opposed to distributor transactions. IQVIA tables are appropriate when seeking a total
industry market figure.
IQVIA National Sales Perspectives (NSP)TM measures revenue within the U.S. pharmaceutical market by
pharmacies, clinics, hospitals and other healthcare providers. NSP reports 100 percent coverage of the retail
and non-retail channels for national pharmaceutical sales at actual transaction prices. The prices do not reflect
off-invoice price concessions that reduce the net amount received by manufacturers.
IQVIA National Prescription Audit (NPA)TM is a suite of services that provides the industry standard source of
national prescription activity for all products and markets.
IQVIA MIDASTM is a unique platform for assessing worldwide healthcare markets. It integrates IQVIA’s
national audits into a globally consistent view of the pharmaceutical market, tracking virtually every product
in hundreds of therapeutic classes and provides estimated product volumes, trends and market share through
retail and non-retail channels.
IQVIA Market PrognosisTM is a comprehensive, strategic market forecasting publication that provides insight
to decision makers about the economic and political issues that can affect spending on healthcare globally.
It uses econometric modeling from the Economist Intelligence Unit to deliver in-depth analysis at a global,
regional and country level about therapy class dynamics, distribution channel changes and brand vs. generic
product spending.
Cost of Total Contact Dollars (Total Contact $): This measure shows the total cost of detailing visits in
hospital and office-based settings directed to the professional audience. Cost per contact is based on annual
US Inflation Rates and estimated company expenses related to rep salary, training and fringe benefits such
as bonus, car and insurance. Detailing aids, samples and other expenses involved in supporting the detailing
effort are not included.
Cost of Professional Advertising (Journal $): This measure is an estimate of the cost of product advertising
in medical journals. Journal advertising costs are based on Standard Rate and Data Service Rates, including
charges for position, color, bleed and inserts. IQVIA estimates of insert material printing costs is added to the
publisher’s rate for inserts. The advertising insertion frequency for each journal is predicated on advertisers’
average usage during a prior year.
Cost of DTC Advertising (DTC $): includes advertising spend information for pharmaceutical brands across
all available media pertinent to pharmaceutical promotion. It includes occurrence and expenditure data
across 18 expanded media types. Under a joint licensing agreement, a third-party supplies IQVIA with
this information.
Retail Value of Samples (RVOS $): is the retail value of the product sampling activities of pharmaceutical
representatives that are directed to office-based physicians. The retail value of samples is computed using the
dollar and quantity sales information IQVIA gathers from the National Prescription Audit (NPA).
Section Overview
The Distributor Demographics & Characteristics section offers information about sales volume, products,
customers, programs and services.
The year 2021 provided new challenges for U.S. healthcare distributors as well as the overall economy.
As vaccinations became widely available in the Spring, the public mostly tried to adjust and move
beyond COVID’s impact. Through a vast combination of PPP funds and other governmental supports,
supply chain restrictions, an extremely low unemployment rate, and a soaring stock market, the U.S.
economy mostly surged – though inflation also jumped to 7.0 percent by year-end. This level of
U.S. inflation hadn’t occurred in 40 years and far exceeded the 1.7 percent rate averaged over the
past decade.
Prescription pharmaceutical products accounted for 98.1 percent of distributor sales volume in 2021,
which has remained relatively consistent since 2010. Sales volume of generic pharmaceuticals increased
slightly in 2021 compared with 2020, inching up from $40.3 billion to $40.6 billion.
Chain sales again represented the largest customer category for traditional distributors, accounting
for 46.2 percent of total sales in 2021. Sales include chain drug stores, mass merchandisers and food
stores as well as chain warehouses.
The weighted averages are calculated for distributor sales by product and customer categories,
respectively. The weighted average includes data from all survey respondents but is adjusted to reflect
marketplace dynamics (Tables 3 and 4).
Table 5 highlights the programs and services offered by distributors. In 2021, 100 percent of distributors
offered the following programs and services to customers:
Current dollars (percent sales change, not adjusted for inflation) 5.6% 3.7% 9.4% 3.0% 1.5-10.7% 6.2%
1
Excludes sales from specialty distributors or specialty divisions.
NOTE: The weighted average takes into account the proportional relevance of company size.
Source: HDA Research Foundation
Data management services (provide data on sales, inventory, returns, etc.) 75.0%
Special handling distribution (e.g., temperature sensitive, controlled substances, hazardous products) 50.0%
Specialty pharmacy (focuses on high cost, high maintenance, chronic diseases) 50.0%
Direct-to-customer order fulfillment (internet based pharmacies): HPC products (health/personal care) 0.0%
Other 0.0%
NOTE: Rounding differences may result in slight calculation variations.
Source: HDA Research Foundation
169,112 165,000
83,833
54,000
Full Line Distributors - Sales Under $1 Billion Full Line Distributors - Sales Over $1 Billion
Average Median
147,892
2015
149,800
155,949
2016
203
161,321
211
176 171,341
2017
168,670
150 144
164,282
2018
165,000
170,993
2019
165,000
2020
34 32 32 33 34 170,993 35
165,000
169,112
2021
165,000
11 11 11
10
11
11 11 11
11
11
11 12
11
11
12
10 11 12
11 11 11
11 11 13
11 12 13
12 12
12
11 11 12
12
12 12 11
12 12 Conn. 11
Washington, D.C. 12
Del. 12
12 Mass. 11
Md. 12
N.H. 11
N.J. 12
R.I. 11
Vt. 11
9 Puerto Rico 9
Guam 7
9
American Samoa 6
U.S. Virgin Islands 9
Northern Mariana Islands 6
NOTE: Entries include the active HDA distributor member, not the parent company.
Source: HDA Research Foundation
Section Overview
The Finance section includes operating ratio measures of profitability and expenses solely at the
corporate level. Administrative, chargeback and service agreement information are also included, as
well as capital expenditure trends in dollars (Table 15), payroll and gross profit per employee (Table 16)
and data for days sales in inventory broken out by branded vs generic products (Table 17). New to this
chapter are data regarding base salary adjustments (Table 29).
• Gross profit margin remained relatively consistent 2020 to 2021 at 1.9 percent;
• Net profit before taxes to gross profit decreased from 24.2 percent in 2020 to 21.8 percent in
2021; and,
• Net profit after taxes to gross profit decreased from 19.3 percent in 2020 to 16.3 percent in 2021.
Distributor company net sales growth is reported as a weighted average. Distributors’ sales grew by
9.4 percent in 2021 (Table 2).
The Administration tables in this section address business-partner interaction through contracts,
scorecarding and service agreements. Section highlights include the following:
• Prior to opening a new customer account, all reporting distributors required a detailed
application process, a credit check and federal or state license verification (Table 20);
• Forty percent of distributors required a monthly minimum dollar volume to service
customers (Table 21);
• The total number of annual chargebacks as a percentage of net sales increased to 34.4 percent
in 2021 (Table 22); and,
• The average percentage of chargebacks denied after initial submission decreased from 1
percent in 2020 to 0.8 percent in 2021 (Table 24).
In 2021, the average total number of SKUs that distributors held in inventory was 44,050 — an increase
of 6.4 percent from 2020. Of that inventory, 20,907 SKUs were non-prescription health products, which
includes non-prescription drugs, health and personal care, general merchandise, durable medical
equipment and home health care. Prescription drugs accounted for 23,143 SKUs, an increase from an
average of 22,592 in 2020 (Table 26).
Table 27 represents distributor ordering practices. Online and order entry systems accounted for 97
percent of orders placed in 2021, followed by phone orders (2 percent) and fax (1 percent).
Gross profit margin 2.0% 1.9% 1.9% 4.1% 1.7% - 3.7% 1.9%
Net profit before taxes to gross profit 31.7% 24.2% 21.8% 31.2% 29.1% - 49.9% 40.9%
Operating profit to net sales 1.1% 0.9% 0.8% 2.3% 0.6% - 1.0% 0.7%
Net profit after taxes to gross profit 25.8% 19.3% 16.3% 26.6% 20.2% - 40.5% 36.0%
Net profit before taxes to net sales 0.6% 0.5% 0.4% 2.2% 0.7% - 1.1% 1.0%
Net profit after taxes to net sales 0.5% 0.4% 0.3% 2.1% 0.7% - 0.8% 0.7%
Net profit after taxes to total assets 3.3% 2.3% 1.7% 11.3% 3.4% - 5.5% 4.5%
Net profit after taxes to net worth 139.1% 100.7% 26.6% 38.1% *-* 8.8%
Return on capital1 6.6% 4.8% 3.6% 12.2% 5.7% - 6.7% 6.4%
1
Return on capital=[Net profits before taxes/(inventory + accounts receivable + cash + cash equivalents)]
NOTES: The weighted average takes into account the proportional relevance of company size.
*Insufficient data
Source: HDA Research Foundation
Net profit margin (after tax) (%) Net Profit 0.5% 0.4% 0.3% 2.1% 0.7% - 0.8% 0.7%
Operating productivity Net Sales
Total asset turnover Net Sales 6.4 6.5 5.5 5.6 4.6 - 6.6 5.1
Asset productivity (times) Total Assets
Financial leverage multiplier Total Assets 42.4 44.2 16.8 3.7 *-* 2.6
Capital structure (times) Net Worth
Return on net worth (after tax) (%) Net Profit 139.1% 100.7% 26.6% 38.1% *-* 8.8%
Return on investment Net Worth
NOTES: The weighted average takes into account the proportional relevance of company size.
Some measures will, by nature, have wide variability in results, such as return on net worth.
*Insufficient data
Source: HDA Research Foundation
Net sales to ending total assets (FIFO) (times) 6.4x 6.5x 5.5x 5.6x 4.6x - 6.6x 5.1x
Inventory turnover rate (Q/M, FIFO) (times)
1
14.8x 14.7x 14.5x 14.1x 13.7x - 15.7x 13.8x
Average monthly collection period (days) 21.8 23.6 23.8 24.5 21.9 - 28.3 22.0
Days sales in inventory (average monthly) (days) 24.7 24.9 25.3 26.4 23.3 - 26.7 26.5
Days sales in inventory: branded products2 * 19 19 22 *-* 19
Days sales in inventory: generic products 2
* 34 32 38 *-* 33
1
Inventory turnover is based on average quarterly or monthly FIFO-based inventories.
2
This data not collected prior to 2020.
NOTE: The weighted average takes into account the proportional relevance of company size.
Source: HDA Research Foundation
Current assets to current liabilities 0.8x 0.8x 0.7x 1.1x 0.9x - 1.5x 0.9x
(times) (an overall measure of liquidity)
Total assets to net worth (FIFO) (times) (a
measure of financial leverage, or the extent to 42.4x 44.2x 16.8x 3.7x *-* 2.6x
which debt versus equity financing is used to
fund the business)
Days payable (days) (average monthly)
(indicates the typical number of days for 52.9 50.6 58.7 55.0 45.5 - 54.9 52.8
paying bills)
Debt to assets1 (%) (measures the percent of 97.6% 97.7% 94.1% 83.5% 61.9% - 104.0% 82.9%
total funds provided by creditors)
Acid test ratio2 (times) (how well a company 0.3x 0.3x 0.3x 0.4x 0.4x - 0.7x 0.4x
can meet its obligations immediately)
Cash ratio (times) (same as acid test, but leaves 0.05x 0.05x 0.05x 0.09x 0.04x - 0.10x 0.07x
out AR)
1
Debt to assets=total debt/total assets
2
Acid test ratio=(cash + marketable securities + AR)/current liabilities
NOTES: The weighted average takes into account the proportional relevance of company size.
*Insufficient data
Source: HDA Research Foundation
Credit memo lines as a percent of total invoice 1.5% 1.8% 2.0% 2.4% 1.1% - 3.2% 2.9%
lines (%)
Credit memo dollars as a percent of net sales 2.0% 1.9% 1.8% 2.5% 2.0% - 2.7% 2.2%
Dollars per credit memo line ($) $438 $285 $318 $617 $183 - $472 $363
NOTE: The weighted average takes into account the proportional relevance of company size.
Source: HDA Research Foundation
Administration
20 Due Diligence: 2021
Average
Due diligence practices used prior to opening a customer account
2021
2021
Total annual chargebacks (%) 31.8% 31.4% 34.4% 26.3% 18.4% - 30.4% 23.8%
Monthly chargebacks outstanding (%) 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.4% 0.3% - 0.4% 0.4%
Source: HDA Research Foundation
2020 2021
Percent of chargebacks denied after initial submission 1.0% 0.8% 0.8% *-* 1.0%
NOTE: *Insufficient data.
Source: HDA Research Foundation
Sales per square foot of warehouse $20,100 $21,329 $4,794 - $27,282 $23,659
Sales per invoice line $277 $291 $180 - $341 $293
Source: HDA Research Foundation
Company Inventory
Prescription drugs — brand name 4,855 5,463 5,392 18% 17% 16%
Prescription drugs — brand name, specialty 909 833 420 2% 3% 1%
Prescription drugs — generic 15,902 15,858 18,263 53% 53% 51%
Prescription drugs — generic, specialty 915 974 36 2% 3% 0%
Prescription drugs — biosimilar 11 15 0 0% 0% 0%
Non-prescription drugs 8,121 7,621 7,289 18% 17% 16%
Health & personal care 6,274 6,139 5,465 2% 3% 1%
General merchandise 1,793 1,824 1,150 1% 1% 0%
Durable medical equipment & home healthcare 2,617 5,323 3,850 4% 4% 3%
Prescription drugs (total) 22,592 23,143 23,655 75% 76% 79%
Non-Rx health products (total) 18,805 20,907 17,619 25% 24% 21%
Overall Number of SKUs 41,397 44,050 41,274 100% 100% 100%
NOTE: Rounding differences may result in slight calculation variations.
Source: HDA Research Foundation
Phone 2.2%
Fax 0.6%
Other 0.0%
Compensation as a percent of gross profit (%) 15.6% 17.2% 18.1% 14.8% - 18.4% 16.2%
Gross profit per employee ($000) $439 $449 $493 $334 - $620 $559
Compensation per employee ($000) $69 $77 $95 $87 - $99 $95
Contribution per employee ($000) $371 $371 $398 $262 - $521 $437
Sales per employee ($000) $23,447 $24,228 $19,685 $6,379 - $32,659 $19,533
Number of employees (#) 1,205 1,306 3,576 438 - 5,309 4,120
NOTE: The weighted average takes into account the proportional relevance of company size.
Source: HDA Research Foundation
Section Overview
The Information Systems section includes metrics on the use and adoption of Electronic Data Interchange
(EDI), barcoding, scanning profile, product serialization and electronic commerce (e-commerce).
Barcoding
Approximately 80 percent of distributors with more than $1 billion in sales scan barcode labels when
receiving product inbound from suppliers up from 56 percent in 2020.
• All distributors scan the NDC number when receiving product inbound from
suppliers (Table 30); and,
• All distributors scan barcodes received from manufacturers at the case level and item level (Table 31).
In 2021, all distributors reported the following reasons for capturing data through barcodes:
• Order checking; • Product receipt;
• Complying with FDA regulations; • Product shipment;
• Returned goods processing; • Stock movement; and,
• Picking; • Generating advanced shipment
• Stock put-away; notices (Table 32).
Eighty percent of distributors reported tracking product distribution by lot numbers. Federal regulatory/
legislative requirements were the main reason cited for tracking by lot numbers (Table 37).
EDI
All distributors with sales of less than $1 billion reported using the following transaction sets (Table 38):
All distributors with sales of more than $1 billion reported using the following EDI transaction sets
in 2021 (Table 39):
E-Commerce
All distributors reported using Internet EDI to assist in trading partner relationships.
Percent of barcodes received inbound from manufacturers' shipping cases that are unreadable on first scan
Average 3.2% 5.6%
Median 2.0% 5.0%
Source: HDA Research Foundation
Exchange
Exchange Exchange Plan to No current
Currently with
EDI transaction set with with use in next plans
using 3rd party
manufacturers customers 12 months to use
processor
Exchange
Exchange Exchange Plan to use No current
Currently with
EDI transaction set with with in next plans
using 3rd party
manufacturers customers 12 months to use
processor
Does this company use EDI transaction sets to support DEA’s CSOS?
Yes, with vendors only 0.0% 0.0%
Yes, with customers only 0.0% 20.0%
Yes, with vendors and customers 100.0% 80.0%
No, do not use EDI transaction sets to support CSOS 0.0% 0.0%
Of customers ordering controlled substances, percentage using DEA’s CSOS
Average 86.1% 88.1%
Median 90.0% 90.0%
Average percent of company’s EDI transactions that require 11.3% 29.5%
DEA CSOS?
Average percent of DEA order forms that are submitted 87.8% 91.8%
using CSOS?
Source: HDA Research Foundation
2020 2021
Technology
Internet EDI 100.0% 100.0%
Media conversion services 60.0% 66.7%
Online catalogs & databases 75.0% 66.7%
Processes
Distributor service agreements/fee for service agreements 75.0% *
Electronic contract administration * *
Returned goods processing * *
Scorecarding 66.7% *
Vendor managed inventory (VMI) * *
Inventory management agreements (IMA) 50.0% *
Collaborative planning forecasting & replenishment (CPFR) * *
NOTE: *Insufficient data
Source: HDA Research Foundation
Exchange with upstream supplier 100.0% 80.0% 20.0% 20.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Exchange with downstream customer 80.0% 40.0% 40.0% 40.0% 20.0% 20.0%
Source: HDA Research Foundation
Physicians/physicians offices
Company's own proprietary numbering 80.0% 60.0%
DEA registration number 40.0% 20.0%
Health Industry Number (HIN) 40.0% 20.0%
Global Location Number (GLN) 0.0% 0.0%
Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) 0.0% 0.0%
DUNS+4 0.0% 0.0%
Other 0.0% 0.0%
Not Applicable 20.0% 20.0%
Mail Order
Company's own proprietary numbering 60.0% 40.0%
DEA registration number 40.0% 20.0%
Health Industry Number (HIN) 20.0% 20.0%
Global Location Number (GLN) 0.0% 0.0%
Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) 20.0% 0.0%
DUNS+4 0.0% 0.0%
Other 0.0% 0.0%
Not Applicable 40.0% 40.0%
Other Distributors
Company's own proprietary numbering 80.0% 60.0%
Global Location Number (GLN) 40.0% 40.0%
DEA registration number 60.0% 40.0%
Health Industry Number (HIN) 40.0% 20.0%
Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) 40.0% 20.0%
DUNS+4 0.0% 0.0%
Other 0.0% 0.0%
Not Applicable 20.0% 20.0%
Source: HDA Research Foundation
Section Overview
The Operations section includes information on supply chain management agreements, product picking,
order value, order fulfillment, employee productivity, special handling conditions, distributor returns
volume, recalls and expenses. New to this chapter are data regarding reasons goods are returned to
manufacturers. Note: data are reported at the corporate level.
Returns
Total annual costs associated with the returns process averaged $4.4 million per company in 2021, a
decrease from $5.6 million in 2020 (Table 47). Among other reasons, customers returned products to
distributors because:
All participating distributors accept returns of saleable controlled-temperature products from customers.
All used third-party processors/reverse distributors to process returns required by manufacturer policy
and law, and 80 percent used third-party processors/reverse distributors for their company’s own returns
and recalls (Table 49).
All companies stock cold chain SKUs. On average, 5 percent of prescription SKUs required cold chain
handling (Table 56).
On average, distributors stocked 10,628 non-prescription drug SKUs in 2021 (Table 58), 6,456 health
and personal care SKUs (Table 60), 1,884 durable medical equipment (DME) SKUs (Table 61) and 1,609
general merchandise SKUs (Table 62).
Table 68 highlights distributor product delivery methods, including those made by:
Suppliers (%)
Collaborative planning forecasting & replenishment (frequent product 80.0% 80.0% 100.0%
replenishment based on actual/forecasted demand)
Inventory management agreements (IMAs) 100.0% 100.0% 80.0%
Distributor service agreements (if separate from IMAs) 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
Vendor managed inventory (VMI) (i.e., replenishment managed by supplier based 20.0% 20.0% 20.0%
on agreement with trading partner)
Consignment—(i.e., Inventory owned by supplier to point of final customer sale) 20.0% 20.0% 0.0%
Other 0.0% 20.0% 0.0%
None 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Customers (%)
Collaborative planning forecasting & replenishment (frequent product 80.0% 80.0% 100.0%
replenishment based on actual/forecasted demand)
Consignment 20.0% 20.0% 20.0%
Vendor managed inventory (VMI) (i.e., replenishment managed by supplier based 20.0% 20.0% 20.0%
on agreement with trading partner)
Other 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
None 20.0% 20.0% 0.0%
Source: HDA Research Foundation
47 Returns: 2019–2021
2019 2020 2021
Total dollar value of returns per employee associated with the returns process
Average $17,247,410 $16,865,789 $14,955,700
Median $18,378,494 $19,063,375 $16,868,629
Total annual costs associated with the returns process
Average $5,063,053 $5,570,701 $4,447,350
Median $5,943,434 $6,766,413 $3,282,097
Number of personnel (FTEs) associated with the returns process
Average 63.2 70.4 71.2
Median 87.0 81.0 82.0
Number of personnel associated with returns process as % of total FTEs
Average 3% 3% 3%
Median 2% 2% 2%
What is the recover rate on unsaleable returns?
Average 94.9% 93.3% 90.7%
Median 97.0% 96.9% 93.5%
What is the percentage of saleable returns to gross sales?
Average 1.1% 1.0% 0.8%
Median 1.0% 1.0% 1.0%
Source: HDA Research Foundation
2020 2021
2020 2021
Companies that stock OTC SKUs requiring special handling (%) 100% 100%
Special Handling OTC SKUs:
Hazardous products
Average 296.0 265.2
Median 149.0 180.0
DEA listed chemicals
Average 47.4 103.0
Median 15.0 52.0
Temperature-sensitive products
Average 25.2 29.8
Median 21.0 31.0
Other
Average 0.0 0.0
Median 0.0 0.0
Total OTC SKUs comprised of these products
Average 368.6 398.0
Median 185.0 266.0
Source: HDA Research Foundation
Number of GM SKUs
Average 1,609
Median 1,750
Companies that stock GM SKUs requiring special handling (%) 20.0%
Percent of GM SKUs that require special handling
Average *
Median *
Number of GM SKUs that require special handling
Average *
Median *
Note: *Insufficient Data
Source: HDA Research Foundation
2020 2021
Number of units picked per day per distribution center 104,030 108,173
Number of orders per day (#) per distribution center 4,234 4,304
Number of lines per order (#) 10.5 10.7
Invoice lines picked per day per distribution center 44,705 46,103
Handling cost per invoice line1 $3.67 $3.78
Number of units picked per invoice line 2.3 2.3
Percent of companies using automated picking methods: (%) 65.1% 65.7%
Of those using automation, percent of invoice lines picked by 45.6% 46.0%
automated methods
1
An outlying response has consistently been removed from the sample.
NOTE: Business days equal 252 to 254 days/year (non-holiday, non-weekend), depending on year.
Source: HDA Research Foundation
1 day/week 5.5%
2 days/week 2.2%
3 days/week 1.7%
4 days/week 1.8%
5 days/week 81.8%
6 days/week 3.2%
7 days/week 0.1%
More than 7 days/week 3.6%
Source: HDA Research Foundation
Section Overview
The Healthcare Products section includes information on therapeutic, branded and generic pharmaceutical
products’ market share, sales, prescriptions, price and growth. This section also includes information on
brand patent expirations, drug approvals and drug shortages. In addition, sales information is available for
over-the-counter (OTC) and supplement healthcare products.
In 2021, pharmaceutical sales for the top 20 therapeutic classes increased slightly to 83.9 percent,
accounting for $485.6 billion of the total market. Immunology products took first place, growing by
19 percent with sales of $91.8 billion in 2021, up from $77.2 billion in 2020. The diabetes therapy class
was second and grew by 15.9 percent, with sales of $86 billion (Table 70).
The top 20 therapeutic classes ranked by prescriptions accounted for 87.1 percent of the total market
in 2021. The top three therapeutic classes by prescriptions remained the same in 2021, with the highest
number of prescriptions, 636.7 million, written for antihypertensive medications; followed by 411.8
million for mental health medications; and 370.3 million for pain medications (Table 71).
In 2021, the market share of U.S. pharmaceuticals by prescription volume was again dominated by
unbranded generic drugs, which made up 82.9 percent of prescriptions. The percent of prescriptions for
branded generics fell slightly in 2021, accounting for 3.2 percent (Table 72).
The top 20 biologic products by U.S. sales reached $163.8 billion in 2021. Of those products, Humira®,
a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blocker, grew by 14 percent, with sales of $28.2 billion.
Non-Prescription Products
The top-ranked OTC category in 2021 was upper respiratory products, with sales of $9.2 billion,
followed by internal analgesics, with sales of $4.6 billion (Table 78).
New Medications
In 2021, the FDA approved 50 novel drugs, down from 53 in 2020 (Table 86).
Antihypertensives,
1 652.0 15.9% 636.7 14.7% -2.4%
plain & combo
2 Mental health 402.8 9.8% 411.8 9.5% 2.3%
3 Pain 368.0 9.0% 370.3 8.5% 0.6%
Vaccines (pure,
4 68.5 1.7% 274.1 6.3% 300.4%
comb, other)
5 Lipid regulators 247.0 6.0% 251.3 5.8% 1.7%
6 Antidiabetics 217.2 5.3% 220.0 5.1% 1.3%
7 Antibacterials 197.0 4.8% 205.2 4.7% 4.2%
8 Nervous system disorders 196.3 4.8% 197.6 4.6% 0.7%
9 Other CNS 171.9 4.2% 172.5 4.0% 0.4%
10 Respiratory agents 176.0 4.3% 170.4 3.9% -3.2%
11 Anti-ulcerants 149.7 3.7% 153.1 3.5% 2.3%
Thyroid anti-thyroid
12 121.6 3.0% 118.0 2.7% -3.0%
and iodine preps
13 Dermatologics 110.0 2.7% 117.6 2.7% 6.9%
14 ADHD 94.8 2.3% 101.4 2.3% 6.9%
15 Antithrombotics 76.8 1.9% 76.9 1.8% 0.1%
Corticosteroids,
16 63.9 1.6% 70.4 1.6% 10.2%
plain & combo
Hormonal contraception,
17 71.7 1.7% 67.1 1.5% -6.4%
systemic & topical
18 Vitamins & minerals 65.8 1.6% 65.9 1.5% 0.2%
19 GI products 53.4 1.3% 56.3 1.3% 5.4%
BPH (benign
20 44.0 1.1% 44.6 1.0% 1.1%
prostatic hypertrophy)
Top 20 3,548.5 86.6% 3,781.3 87.1% 6.6%
Total U.S. market 4,097.4 100.0% 4,342.0 100.0% 6.0%
NOTE: Limited to Rx and OTC Insulins.
Source: IQVIA, National Prescription Audit, April 2022
Year Unbranded Generics Branded Generics Brands Unbranded Generics Branded Generics Brands
Non-Prescription Products
77 Rx-to-OTC Switch List: 2013–2022
Approval
Drug Name NDA Purpose
Date
New Medications
National Drug Shortages - New Shortages by Year
79 January 2001 to March 31, 2022
300
267
250
211 204
200 185 186
166 166
149 154 146
150 140 142
120 129 129
114
100 88
73 74 70
58
50 32
0
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Note:the
NOTE: Each column represents Each column
number represents
of new theidentified
shortages number during
of newthat
shortages
year identified during that year.
University of Utah Drug Information Service
[email protected], @foxerinr
Source: University of Utah Drug Information Service
[email protected], @foxerinr
0
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Note: Each
NOTE: Each column represents thecolumn
numberrepresents the number
of new shortages ofduring
identified new shortages
that year. identified during that year.
University
[email protected], @foxerinr of Utah Drug Information Service [email protected], @foxerinr
Source: University of Utah Drug Information Service
150
100
50
0
Q2 6
Q3 6
Q4 6
Q1 6
Q2 7
Q3 7
Q4 7
Q1 7
Q2 8
Q3 8
Q4 8
Q1 8
Q2 9
Q3 9
Q4 9
Q1 9
Q2 0
Q3 0
Q4 0
Q1 0
Q2 1
Q3 1
Q4 1
Q1 1
2
-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-1
-2
-2
-2
-2
-2
-2
-2
-2
-2
Q1
Note: Each
NOTE: Each point represents point represents
the number the number
of active shortages of active
at the end of eachshortages
quarter. at the end of each quarter.
[email protected], @foxerinr of Utah Drug Information Service
University
Source: University of Utah Drug Information Service
[email protected], @foxerinr
es
s
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ar
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Unknown
22% Supply/Demand
Manufacturing
Business decision
Regulatory issue
Raw material issue
27%
University
[email protected], @foxerinr of Utah Drug Information Service
Source: University [email protected],
Utah Drug Information Service
@foxerinr
53
45 50
46 48
39
41
30
27
22
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Centaur Pharmaceuticals
93 Ivabradine Tablets, 5 mg and 7.5 mg Corlanor (Ivabradine) Tablets, 5 mg and 7.5 mg 12/30/21
Private Limited
88 Lubiprostone Capsules, 8 mcg and 24 mcg Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC Amitiza (Lubiprostone) Capsules, 8 mcg and 24 mcg 11/30/21
Betaine Anhydrous for Oral Solution, Cystadane (Betaine Anhydrous) For Oral Solution,
86 Novitium Pharma LLC 11/23/21
180 grams/bottle 180 grams/bottle
85 Dasatinib Tablets, 80 mg and 140 mg Apotex Inc. Sprycel (Dasatinib) Tablets, 80 mg and 140 mg 11/23/21
83 Fingolimod Capsules, 0.25 mg Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. Gilenya (Fingolimod) Capsules, 0.25 mg 11/12/21
Potassium Chloride (20 mEq) in Lactated Potassium Chloride (20 mEq) in Lactated Ringer's
82 Ringer's and 5% Dextrose Injection USP, Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC 11/9/21
and 5% Dextrose Injection
Single-Dose Containers
Everolimus Tablets, 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, Zortress (Everolimus) Tablets, 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg,
80 Par Pharmaceutical, Inc. 10/18/21
0.75 mg and 1 mg 0.75 mg and 1 mg
Lenalidomide Capsules , 2.5 mg, 5 mg, Revlimid (Lenalidomide) Capsules , 2.5 mg, 5 mg,
79 Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Limited 10/14/21
10 mg, 15 mg, 20 mg and 25 mg 10 mg, 15 mg, 20 mg and 25 mg
Carglumic Acid Tablets for Oral Carbaglu (Carglumic Acid) Tablets for Oral
78 Novitium Pharma LLC 10/14/21
Suspension, 200 mg Suspension, 200 mg
75 Oxymetazoline Hydrochloride Cream, 1% Taro Pharmaceuticals Inc. Rhofade (Oxymetazoline Hydrochloride) Cream, 1% 10/4/21
Zolmitriptan Nasal Spray USP, 2.5 mg Zomig (Zolmitriptan) Nasal Spray USP, 2.5 mg
74 Padagis Israel Pharmaceuticals Ltd. 9/30/21
and 5 mg and 5 mg
73 Brimonidine Topical Gel, 0.33% Padagis Israel Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Mirvaso (Brimonidine) Topical Gel, 0.33% 9/23/21
Ceftaroline Fosamil for Injection, 400 mg Teflaro (Ceftaroline Fosamil) for Injection, 400 mg
72 Apotex Inc. 9/21/21
and 600 mg Single-Dose Vials and 600 mg Single-Dose Vials
70 Eliglustat Capsules, 84 mg Aizant Drug Research Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Cerdelga (Eliglustat) Capsules, 84 mg 9/8/21
68 Linagliptin Tablets, 5 mg Sunshine Lake Pharma Co., Ltd. Tradjenta (Linagliptin) Tablets, 5 mg 8/31/21
Sunitinib Malate Capsules, 12.5 mg, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Sutent (Sunitinib Malate) Capsules, 12.5 mg, 25 mg,
65 8/16/21
25 mg, 37.5 mg and 50 mg Limited 37.5 mg and 50 mg
63 Varenicline Tablets, 0.5 mg and 1 mg Par Pharmaceutical, Inc. Chantix (Varenicline) Tablets, 0.5 mg and 1 mg 8/11/21
62 Enalapril Maleate Oral Solution, 1 mg/mL Bionpharma Inc. Epaned (Enalapril Maleate) Oral Solution, 1 mg/mL 8/10/21
61 Difluprednate Ophthalmic Emulsion, 0.05% Cipla Limited Durezol (Difluprednate) Ophthalmic Emulsion, 0.05% 8/9/21
Buprenorphine Buccal Film, 75 mcg, 150 Belbuca (Buprenorphine) Buccal Film, 75 mcg,
58 mcg, 300 mcg, 450 mcg, 600 mcg, 750 Alvogen Malta Operations Ltd. 150 mcg, 300 mcg, 450 mcg, 600 mcg, 750 mcg, 8/3/21
mcg, and 900 mcg and 900 mcg
Eslicarbazepine Acetate Tablets, 200 mg, Aptiom (Eslicarbazepine Acetate) Tablets, 200 mg,
54 Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Inc. 6/29/21
400 mg, 600 mg, 800 mg 400 mg, 600 mg, 800 mg
Etravirine Tablets, 25 mg, 100 mg, Intelence (Etravirine) Tablets, 25 mg, 100 mg,
49 Amneal EU, Limited 6/14/21
and 200 mg and 200 mg
Carfilzomib for Injection, 10 mg, 30 mg, Kyprolis (Carfilzomib) for Injection, 10 mg, 30 mg,
48 Breckenridge Pharmaceutical, Inc. 6/11/21
and 60 mg Single-Dose Vials and 60 mg Single-Dose Vials
Lopinavir and Ritonavir Tablets USP, 100 Kaletra (Lopinavir and Ritonavir) Tablets, 100 mg/25
47 Hetero Labs Limited 6/4/21
mg/25 mg, 200 mg/50 mg mg and 200 mg/50 mg
Zinc Chloride Injection USP, 10 mg/10 mL Zinc Chloride Injection USP, 10 mg/10 mL
45 Exela Pharma Sciences, LLC. 5/21/21
(1 mg/mL) Single-Dose Vials (1 mg/mL) Single-Dose Vials
Calcitonin Salmon Injection USP, 400 USP Miacalcin (Calcitonin Salmon) Injection USP, 400
43 units per 2 mL (200 USP units per mL) Custopharm, Inc. USP units per 2 mL (200 USP units per mL) Multi- 5/14/21
Multi-Dose Vial Dose Vial
42 Enzalutamide Capsules, 40 mg Actavis Laboratories FL, Inc Xtandi (Enzalutamide) Capsules, 40 mg 5/14/21
Sodium Acetate Injection USP, 100 Sodium Acetate Injection USP, 100 mEq/50 mL (2
mEq/50 mL (2 mEq/mL) and 200 mEq/100
41 Milla Pharmaceuticals, Inc. mEq/mL) and 200 mEq/100 mL (2 mEq/mL) Phar- 5/4/21
mL (2 mEq/mL) Pharmacy Bulk Package macy Bulk Package Vials
Vials
23.4% Sodium Chloride Injection USP, 23.4% Sodium Chloride Injection USP, 120 mEq/30
40 120 mEq/30 mL (4 mEq/mL) Single Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC 4/28/21
mL (4 mEq/mL)
Dose Vial
Sodium Chloride Injection, USP, 14.6% Sodium Chloride Injection, USP 14.6% 50 mEq/20
39 Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC 4/28/21
50 mEq/20 mL and 100 mEq/40 mL mL and 100 mEq/40 mL
38 Tiopronin Tablets, 100 mg Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc Thiola (Tiopronin) Tablets, 100 mg 4/26/21
29 Ibrutinib Capsules, 70 mg and 140 mg Zydus Worldwide DMCC Imbruvica (Ibrutinib) Capsules, 70 mg and 140 mg 3/31/21
Isotretinoin Capsules USP, 10 mg, 20 mg, Absorica (Isotretinoin) Capsules USP, 10 mg, 20 mg,
28 Actavis Laboratories FL, Inc. 3/31/21
25 mg, 30 mg, 35 mg and 40 mg 25 mg, 30 mg, 35 mg and 40 mg
50% Dextrose Injection USP, 25 g/50 mL International Medication Systems, 50% Dextrose Injection USP, 25 g/50 mL (0.5 g/mL),
27 3/26/21
(0.5 g/mL), Single-Dose Prefilled Syringes Limited Single-Dose Prefilled Syringes
Atropine Sulfate Injection USP, 8 mg/20 Atropine Sulfate Injection USP, 8 mg/20 mL (0.4
26 Accord Healthcare Inc. 3/19/21
mL (0.4 mg/mL), Multiple-Dose Vial mg/mL), Multiple-Dose Vial
Potassium Chloride in 5% Dextrose and Potassium Chloride in 5% Dextrose and 0.9% Sodi-
0.9% Sodium Chloride Injection USP, 20
23 Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC um Chloride Injection USP, 20 mEq/1,000 mL and 3/9/21
mEq/1,000 mL and 40 mEq/1,000 mL, 40 mEq/1,000 mL
Single-Dose Containers
Droxidopa Capsules, 100 mg, 200 mg, Northera (Droxidopa) Capsules, 100 mg,
10 Lupin Limited 2/18/21
300 mg 200 mg, 300 mg
5 Imiquimod Cream USP, 3.75% Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Limited Zyclara (Imiquimod) Cream, 3.75% 1/26/21
Epoprostenol for Injection, 0.5 mg/Vial Veletri (Epoprostenol for Injection), 0.5 mg/Vial and
3 Sun Pharmaceutical 1/15/21
and 1.5 mg/Vial 1.5 mg/Vial
Section Overview
The Customers section includes pharmaceutical sales and market share by customer categories,
including chain stores, clinics and independent pharmacies, top drug chains by pharmacy sales and drug
store markets. This chapter also includes returns data (quantities, policies and product mix).
As reported by IQVIA in 2021, U.S. pharmaceutical spending by channel grew to $578.9 billion,
with 7.8 percent growth from 2020. Retail customers accounted for 69.8 percent of pharmaceutical
market share ($403.8 billion), while clinics (18.2 percent) and non-federal hospitals (6.9 percent)
comprised the largest portions of non-retail sales.
Returns Data
More than half (61.3 percent) of companies accept returns for credit and 79.3 percent accept returns
up to 6 months prior to expiration (Table 89). An average of 634 pieces were returned per pharmacy
location with a dollar value of $43,865 (Table 93). In terms of product mix, the majority of returned
pieces were generic (83.2 percent) though the generic pieces accounted for only 31.7 percent of return
processed value (Table 97).
1 Walgreens $112.0
2 CVS Health $100.11
3 Good Neighbor $16.7
4 Rite Aid $16.62
5 Health Mart $12.93
6 Shoppers Drug Mart $11.84
7 McKesson Canada $9.05
8 Metro $6.35
9 London Drugs $2.65
10 Hy-Vee $2.3
1
Reflects retail/long-term care sales only.
2
Retail Pharmacy segment sales only, estimated by CDR.
3
CDR estimate.
4
Translated from Canadian to U.S. dollars at the rate of 0.8, the same as a year earlier.
5
CDR estimate in U.S. dollars.
Source: Racher Press Research, Chain Drug Review
Section Overview
The Market Characteristics section includes information on national healthcare expenditures, sources
of health insurance, prescription spending by payer, prescription use and top pharmaceutical
manufacturing companies.
According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary, U.S. health
expenditures increased by 4.2 percent in 2021, reaching $4.3 trillion (up from $4.1 trillion last year).
In 2021, per capita U.S. healthcare spending as a percent of Gross Domestic Product decreased
from 19.7 percent to 18.8 percent (Tables 99 and 100).
In 2022, hospital care spending was projected to reach 6.2 percent of the U.S. Gross Domestic
Product, with spending of $1.4 trillion, which is a 6.9 percent increase over 2021 (Table 101). Projections
of prescription drug spending by payer are broken into four categories:
As reported by IQVIA, 54 percent of prescriptions dispensed were paid by commercial third parties;
followed by Medicare Part D, 27.7 percent; Medicaid, 15.2 percent; and, cash, 3 percent (Table 105).
Prescriptions
As reported by IQVIA, total prescriptions dispensed by all channels were as follows:
• Chain stores and mass merchandisers, 55.1 percent, up slightly from 54.6 percent in 2020;
• Independent pharmacy, 14.3 percent, up slightly from 2020;
• Food stores, 16.8 percent, down from 17 percent in 2020;
• Long-term care, 8.6 percent, down from 9.2 percent in 2020; and,
• Mail services, 5.1 percent, down slightly from 5.3 percent in 2020 (Table 107).
Pharmaceutical Companies
Table 110 notes AbbVie was the number-one-ranked manufacturer with sales of $38.7 billion in 2021.
• Aurobindo took first place, with the highest number of prescriptions dispensed — 311.8 million.
Teva was second, with 302.8 million prescriptions (Table 111).
• For unbranded generic prescriptions, Aurobindo again held the top spot, with 307 million
prescriptions dispensed, capturing 8.5 percent of the generic market (Table 112).
• The top two prescription products were COVID-19 vaccines. Pfizer was the leader with
128.8 million prescriptions dispensed in 2021. Moderna’s vaccine was second with
84 million prescriptions dispensed (Table 113).
The top 10 biologic manufacturers by revenue accounted for $312 billion of the $441.1 billion total
biologic market in 2021.
$5,000.0 9.7%
$4,000.0
$1,000.0
$0.0
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
$12,000 18.8%
$10,000 18.2% 18.2% 18.3%
$2,000
$0
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Spending Per Capita Gross Domesc Product
NOTE: Numbers and percents may not add to totals because of rounding.
Sources: Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Office of the Actuary; U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic
Analysis; and U.S. Bureau of the Census.
Type of Service Spending ($bil) Percent Change Spending ($bil) Percent Change
Prescription Use
103 Projected Growth of Medicare and Medicaid Spending: 2020–2030
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030
4,487
4,237 4,214 4,342
4,196 4,097
Millions
20.1%
13.0%
3.6%
-0.6% 7.8%
6.3% 6.1% 6.0%
5.0% 4.7%
2.3%
Pharmaceutical Companies
110 Top 20 U.S. Pharmaceutical Manufacturers by Sales: 2019–2021
Rank 2019 ($bil) 2020 ($bil) 20201 ($bil)
Section Overview
The International section includes information on global pharmaceutical sales, market share and
growth, as well as Canadian drug store chains and prescription sales. This section also addresses
emerging markets.
In 2021, IQVIA reported that the worldwide pharmaceutical market exceeded $1.2 trillion.
North America, (excluding Mexico and Central America), accounted for 48.5 percent of the global
pharmaceutical market share, with sales of $597.1 billion. Europe accounted for 23.9 percent, with sales
of $294.1 billion, followed by Asia/Africa/Australia with sales of $217.4 billion in 2021 (Table 117).
The top 10 pharmaceutical markets in the world by dollar share accounted for $987.3 billion in 2021.
The U.S. continued to lead by percent of global market share, with 47 percent or $567.3 billion in sales;
followed by China, with 9.5 percent or $115.3 billion; and Japan, with 6 percent or $72 billion (Table 118).
In 2021, the top 10 branded products by revenue accounted for $4.6 billion of the total Canadian market
(18 percent). Remicade®, used to treat autoimmune disorders, held the top ranking in 2021 (Table 122).
Pharmerging Nations
According to IQVIA, “pharmerging” nations by growth projections indicated that China’s total spending
(including branded and generic drugs) will increase from $171.7 billion in 2021, to $205.6 billion in 2026
(Table 124).
Table 125 reflects projected Indian pharmaceutical sales by customer categories that are broken down
into four sectors: retail, hospital, dispensing doctors and unaudited market. The total market in 2021
accounted for $25.4 billion in pharmaceutical sales and is expected to reach $39.4 billion by 2026.
• Cipla ranked second, with sales of $1.05 billion and 6 percent of the market share; and,
• Abbott ranked third, with sales of $1.03 billion, also accounting for 6 percent of the market
share (Table 126).
India’s total market of therapeutic classes by sales in 2021 accounted for $16.8 billion; the top 20 classes
make up 84 percent of the market share, with sales of $14.1 billion. The top three therapy classes by
sales were:
1 China $33.9 4%
2 Brazil and India $34.4 10%
Mexico, Turkey, Poland
3 $28.7 13%
and Argentina
NOTE: No data available on Russia (Tier 2)
Source: IQVIA, Market Prognosis, May 2022
Survey Participants
To all of the entities that participate in our annual survey program, we would like to express our deepest
gratitude and thanks. We appreciate the time and effort you contribute to collect and report the data
and look forward to working with you again next year.
These terms are used in the pharmaceutical distribution industry and may be found in the text of the
93rd Edition HDA Factbook: The Facts, Figures & Trends in Healthcare (2022-2023). Words or phrases
defined uniquely by the cited source are listed as table notes.
Drug stores with four or more stores primarily in the business of retail sales of
Chain Drug Stores pharmaceuticals and OTC products
The amount a distributor bills back to a manufacturer when a product is sold to a customer
Chargeback at a contract price that is less than the distributor's cost
[Beginning inventory + purchases (net of trade discounts & returns, freight, value of
Cost of Goods Sold inventory shrinkage and sales or use taxes) - ending inventory]
Collaborative Planning Forecasting and Replenishment — frequent replenishment of
CPFR product based on actual and forecasted demand
DC Distribution center
EC Electronic Commerce
First In First Out — a method of valuing the cost of goods sold that uses the cost of the
FIFO oldest items in inventory first
The percent of both total sales invoice lines and total sales dollars ordered that are
Fill rate shipped without error or backorder
Full-Time Employees, where the proportion of full-time hours worked is reported for those
FTE’s who do not work full-time
GM General Merchandise
Health and Beauty Care — products that do not treat a therapeutic class, (e.g., toiletries
HBC and cosmetics)
Institutional Customers who purchase healthcare products without the primary intention of reselling
Customers them, including hospitals, nursing homes, prisons or institutions
Independent Drug Drug stores with no more than one to three locations, and are not part of a larger chain
Stores
Sales staff that work customer accounts from an office where calls are received for products
Inside Sales Force or services
Line Extension Dollar amount of a single invoice line (quantity multiplied by price)
NA Not Applicable
Non-Stock Sales Products sold by a distributor, but not put into inventory — sold mainly to chain drug warehouses
OTC Over-the-Counter
Q/M Quarterly/Monthly
Radiographic Drugs used for diagnostic tests, such as dyes, barium and drugs for nuclear diagnostics
Products
Repackaging Removing product from the original package and dividing it into smaller quantity packages
Products unsaleable at the retail level (damaged, outdated, overstocked, etc.) returned to
Returns a manufacturer or distributor for credit
Saleable Product that may be sold or resold and replaced into inventory
SKU Stock Keeping Unit — code that identifies each unique product form
Scorecarding An evaluation that assesses the order fulfillment process between trading partners
The process by which specialty products move through the supply chain. Specialty products
are generally defined as products that treat chronic, complex and rare diseases; and have a
minimum of four out of seven following additional characteristics related to the distribution,
care, delivery and/or cost of the medicines: Are high in cost ($6000 or more per year),
Initiated/maintained by a specialist, Require administration by another individual or healthcare
Specialty professional (i.e., not self-administered), Require special handling in the supply chain (e.g.,
Distribution
refrigerator, frozen, chemo precautions, biohazard), Require patient payment assistance,
Distributed through non-traditional channels, Medication has significant side effects that
require additional monitoring/counseling (including, but not limited to REMS programs) and/
or disease requires additional monitoring of therapy (e.g., monitoring of blood/cell counts to
assess effectiveness/side effects of therapy).
Typically a pharmacy function that focuses on high cost, high maintenance products that
treat chronic diseases, such as rheumatology or oncology. These products are nearly
Specialty Pharmacy always injectable, biotech products. Many are associated with complex reimbursement
issues, require specialized shipping and handling, and require disease state management
tools to maximize therapeutic benefit and assure patient compliance
Stock Sales Sales of product that have been unpacked and placed in distributor inventory