Generics: hundreds of billions of savings
Astronomical figures of the generic lobby in the USAAgainst the background of the efforts undertaken by the new US administration to reform the country's healthcare system, the Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA), lobbying for the interests of generic manufacturers, announced that the US healthcare system has saved almost three quarters of a trillion dollars on generics over the past ten years.
Based on data from independent analyses by IMS Health, which tracks the sale of prescription drugs, generics, according to GPhA estimates, brought savings of more than $734 billion between 1999 and 2008.
Last year alone, almost $121 billion was saved in the country when prescribing generic drugs instead of more expensive branded drugs.
GPhA notes that the savings will continue to grow as patent protection of well-known branded drugs expires in a few years. Among them is Pfizer's anti–cholesterol drug Lipitor, which brings in $ 13 billion a year, according to cnbc.com .
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