Strengthening the Economy
Continued discovery of new medicines helps strengthen the U.S. economy. First, through the creation of high-quality jobs for U.S. workers. Second, by making it possible for patients to go back to work sooner and to be more productive when they are at work.
In 2006, the most recent year for which a detailed analysis is available, biopharmaceutical companies employed more than 686,000 Americans. Each of these jobs supported an additional 3.7 jobs in professional services, wholesale trade companies, building services, real estate, physician offices and hospitals, food and beverage establishments, and retail. In total, the biopharmaceutical sector accounted for 3.2 million direct, indirect, or induced jobs.[i]
New medicines also benefit the economy by increasing worker productivity and reducing absenteeism. Society at large receives economic gains from medicines because of this increased productivity and extended life expectancy.
Migraine medicine
One study, which evaluated the effect of migraine treatment on productivity, found that more than 50% of workers who received a triptan drug injection for a migraine attack returned to work within two hours, compared with 9% of workers who received a placebo.[ii]
Allergy medicine
A study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that patients taking a non-sedating antihistamine for allergies experienced a 5.2% increase in daily work output in the three days after receiving the medication, compared with a 7.8% reduction in work output for workers receiving sedating antihistamines. [iii]
Medicines for depression
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) says that “if every American with depression received care from a health plan or provider that was performing at the 90th percentile level, employers would recover up to 8.8 million absentee days a year.” NCQA also reported that only 40.1% of patients with depression “received effective continuation phase treatment.” [iv]
[i] L.R. Burns, The Biopharmaceutical Sector’s Impact on the U.S. Economy: Analysis at the National, State, and Local Levels (Washington, D.C.: Archstone Consulting, LLC, March 2009).
[ii] R.C. Cady, et al., “Sumatriptan Injection Reduces Productivity Loss During a Migraine Attack: Results of a Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial,” Archives of Internal Medicine, 158 (May 11, 1998).
[iii] I.M. Cockburn, et al., “Loss of Work Productivity Due to Illness and Medical Treatment,” Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 41 (1999): 11, 948-953.
[iv] National Committee for Quality Assurance, State of Health Care Quality: 2002 (Washington, DC: NCQA, 2003).
