Kelly M. Johnson, MBA

The antihyperglycemic therapeutic class will continue to be a major contributor to prescription drug trends in 2011 and beyond.

Specialty drugs are a significant cost trend driver for the majority of plan sponsors.

Increased generic substitution is projected to erode prices and outpace class utilization growth for proton pump inhibitors in 2010.

The dispensing rate for generic statins is expected to rise slowly due to increased volumes of simvastatin and pravastatin sodium moderated by increased Crestor volumes.

Increases in the number of cancer cases being diagnosed and treated likely will drive cost trends for antineoplastic enzyme inhibitors.

Future costs of MS therapy are likely to increase due to new add-on therapy combined with double-digit growth in utilization for existing drugs.

The proportion of Americans diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is projected to increase almost 2-fold over the next couple of decades due to size of the Baby Boom generation compared with the total US population.

Although utilization of benzodiazepines is expected to continue to increase, overall class costs should remain low because of the availability of generics.