US government Brief shows dramatic growth in generic drug use has generated 'substantial savings' for consumers

The US Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released an Issue Brief, titled Expanding the Use of Generic Drugs, which found that the greater use of copy medicines has generated “substantial savings” for consumers.

This Brief concluded that there is a clear consensus that generic savings are now a large and important source of health care savings. Increases in cost savings from greater substitution of generics for therapeutically equivalent drugs appear possible, though these increases are likely to be small relative to total spending on drugs. Limited evidence indicates that state prescribing laws that allow consumers more choice in whether to use generics reduce generic drug use.

Moreover, it stated, increased availability of generic drugs by eliminating pay-for-delay agreements and speeding Abbreviated New Drug Application reviews by the Food and Drug Administration also shows promise for increasing savings. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that American consumers could save $35 billion over the next 10 years due to earlier access to generic drugs if pay-for-delay agreements were eliminated. Although the FDA ensures that reviews of ANDAs for first generics are not delayed, speeding reviews of subsequent generic competitors may further decrease generic prices, as research shows that more generic competitors lead to lower prices. However, without analysis of the pending ANDAs, the economic significance of the review delays cannot be assessed, said the ASPE.