The use of generic prescription drugs has risen to a current rate of $1 billion every other day, saving the U.S. healthcare system more than $1 trillion over the last 10 years (2002-2011), according to a report released Thursday by the Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA).
The Generic Drug Savings study was conducted for GPhA by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, a division of IMS Health.
“The remarkable findings demonstrated in this report are a testament not only to the generic industry’s tremendous accomplishments over the past decade, but to the even greater achievements that are still to come,” said Ralph G. Neas, president and CEO of GPhA, in a statement. “The Generic Drug Savings study shows conclusively that, as Congress and the White House gear up for the fiscal challenges facing them in the coming year, generic and biosimilar utilization are the best places to go for the ‘offsets’ that everyone will be desperately seeking. The sustainability of the healthcare system and the national economy depend in significant measure on the availability of affordable medicines.”
Other study findings include:
- Savings from generics in 2011 increased 22 percent over the prior year, marking the largest year-over-year increase since 1998, and 10 percentage points higher than the 10-year average.
- Savings from newer generic medicines – those that have entered the market since 2002 – continue to increase exponentially, totaling $481 billion over the past 10 years.
- Generic versions of central nervous system drugs, such as antidepressants and anticonvulsants, and cardiovascular drugs account for 57 percent of the annual savings.
- In 2011, nearly 80 percent of the 4 billion prescriptions written in the U.S. were dispensed using generic medicines, while accounting for only 27 percent of the total drug spending.
In an interview with Healthcare Finance News last August, Michael Kleinrock, research director at the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, said American healthcare consumers are educated about generics and are always on the lookout for them.
“American consumers are extremely aware of generic options and are actively looking for them,” said Kleinrock.