Generic medications have saved the American healthcare system more than $824 billion over the past decade – and $139.6 billion alone in 2009 – according to a new study.
The study, conducted by IMS Health, was commissioned by the Generic Pharmaceutical Association to provide and analyze brand and generic prescription drug sales data from 2000 to 2009.
"Generic pharmaceuticals continue to be one of the best buys in healthcare," said Paul Bisaro, chairman of GPhA's board of directors. "While prices for name brand prescriptions continue to rise year after year, generic prices have remained generally unchanged and in some cases have even declined as more competition enters the market. It is clear from the IMS analysis that increasing access to generics would significantly reduce the nation's overall healthcare bill."
This study follows one released in May 2009 that showed that the use of generic drugs saved the U.S. healthcare system nearly three-quarters of a trillion dollars between 1999 and 2008.
"This new analysis shows beyond a doubt that generic use is a proven way of bending the health cost curve downward," Bisaro said. "Policies that encourage greater use of generic medicines can help states afford the cost of implementing expanded Medicaid coverage under new healthcare reform laws."
"This study confirms what we already know-generic drugs will lower healthcare costs for families," said Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.).
GPhA officials expect generic savings to continue their robust growth in the near term, as $89 billion in branded drug sales will lose patent protection over the next five years.
Today, three-fourths of all prescriptions dispensed in the United States are filled using generics, but they account for only 22 percent of the total dollars spent on prescription drugs, according to GPhA.
Findings from the study include:
- Newer generics are driving system-wide savings;
- Generics approved by the FDA since 2000 produced $263 billion, or about one-third of the total $824 billion in savings;
- Treatments in the therapeutic categories of metabolism, cardiovascular and central nervous system experienced the highest growth in savings;
- Savings generated by the use of generic CNS drugs soared 20 percent in 2009 to $49.1 billion, up from $40.9 billion in 2008;
- Savings from generic cardiovascular drugs jumped 14 percent to $37.3 billion in 2009, up from $32.7 billion in 2008;
- In 2009, the use of generics in the three therapeutic categories of CNS, cardiovascular and metabolism accounted for about three-fourths of the total $139.6 billion in savings.