Rochester, N.Y. - Over the next 14 months, patents on the world’s most popular prescriptions drugs will expire, allowing cheaper, generic versions into the market.
The amount of new generic drugs that will become available is unprecedented and includes two best-selling drugs Lipitor and Plavix.
Marlene Adams of Rochester has coronary artery disease and must take seven pills every day. This includes both Lipitor and Plavix.
“When I saw that it was going to be reduced and it was going to be a generic price, I thought, ‘This is phenomenal,’ because all these medications add up,” says Adams.
According to EvaluatePharma, a London research firm, the drugs going off-patent between now and 2016 amount to $255 billion in global sales annually.
Most patients aren’t sympathetic to drug companys' losses. They say it’s about time drug prices decreased.
“The drug companies have made tons of money off of these products,” says Jim Scardinale, of Rochester. “They must of covered their cost by now. It's only fair the drugs become cheaper.”
Doctors and pharmacists say the wave of new generic drugs entering the market is good news for both patients and the healthcare industry.
Kevin McCormick, a professor of medicine at the University of Rochester, says he’s had patients who could not afford insurance or prescription drugs. These patients would often forgo their health.
“Many patients must make a choice-- with limited finances, what they can pay that month,” says McCormick. ”Often times people will skip, stop or never fill a prescription.”
According to Wolters Kluwer Pharma Solutions, the average cost of a generic drug is $72 compared to $198 for a brand-named drug.
Doctors like McCormick hope that the generic drugs would result in better compliance and therefore, lead to better health for patients.
Dick Standish, a Wegman’s pharmacist, says generic drugs are, for the most part, chemically identical to brand-name drugs.
“People have come to want and accept generic drugs as a perfect alternative as a brand name product,” says Standish, “They have to pass the same stringent FDA requirements. There's really no difference in the generic and brand name product.”
Other drugs whose patents will expire in the next 14 months include; LexaPro, Singulair, Ayprexas, Actos, Enbrel, Lovaza.
