Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs category; and cost less on average than other drugs in the category. Several of the Best Buys have been chosen because of their superior effectiveness or safety profile even though they may cost more. The project publishes Best Buy Drugs drug reports, the first three such reports covered Statins to reduce high cholesterol, heartburn drugs, and NSAIDs commonly used to treat arthritis. The project covers over 20 conditions and the most widely used drugs. The reports are published in web versions, and two-page PDF summaries in English and Spanish. More than half of all prescription drugs cause adverse effects—some serious
Specialty drugs in the United States Specialty drugs in the United States Specialty drugs or specialty pharmaceuticals are a recent designation of pharmaceuticals that are classified as high-cost, high complexity and/or high touch. Specialty drugs are often biologics—"drugs derived from living cells" that are injectable or infused (although some are oral medications). They are used to treat complex or rare chronic conditions such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, H.I.V. psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease and hepatitis C. In 1990 there were 10 specialty drugs on the market, in the mid-1990s there were fewer than 30, by 2008 there were 200, and by 2015 there were 300. Drugs