About GPhA

The Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA) commissioned IMS Health, the world’s leading provider of market intelligence to the pharmaceutical and health care industries, to conduct a 10-year supplemental savings analysis (2000-2009) that included brand and generic drug utilization data for 2009, the most recent full-year reporting period.

The results of the IMS analysis are astounding. For the decade 2000 through 2009, the use of generic prescription drugs in place of their brand-name counterparts saved the nation’s health care system more than $824 billion dollars. In 2009 alone the use of FDA-approved generics saved $139.6 billion—a 15% growth over the prior year’s savings—or about $382 million every day. From the IMS analysis, GPhA makes the following observations:

• the exponential growth in savings since 2006 has been driven by the launch of generic versions of several blockbuster brand drugs;
• from 2008 to 2009, savings generated by the use of generic central nervous system drugs soared 20%;
• savings generated by new generics will continue to increase as $89 billion in branded drug sales will lose patent protection over the next five years;
• every 2% increase in generic utilization in Medicaid programs saves taxpayers an additional $1 billion annually; and
• over the past 10 years, patent settlements have resulted in billions of dollars in savings as dozens of first-time generics have come to market prior to patents expiring on the counterpart brand drugs.

GPhA believes that the study is predictive of the greater savings that could be achieved in future years through the implementation of initiatives to:

1. increase funding of FDA’s Office of Generic Drugs (OGD) to ensure the timely review and approval of new generic pharmaceuticals;
2. eliminate “evergreening” of biologic drug patents to facilitate access to more affordable generic versions of lifesaving biologic medicines; and
3. ensure access to affordable generics by continuing to allow generic manufacturers to settle patent challenges, bringing generics to market sooner and generating additional savings for American consumers.