Generic drugs: Big cure coming for sickly wallet

The drugs are becoming more popular than their brand name counterparts.
LOS ANGELES TIMES
Consumers stand to save billions of dollars in prescription drug costs in the next few years as an unprecedented wave of expensive brand-name medications come off patent, facing competition from far-cheaper generic versions.
Four of the nation's 10 best-selling prescription medicines -- treating common ailments ranging from high cholesterol to asthma -- are due to lose patent protections starting this year through 2010. Never have so many branded drugs, with annual sales of as much as $75 billion, lost their patents in so brief a time, experts say.
The savings for consumers could be enormous. Unlike hospital or doctor care, which are expensive but paid mostly by health insurance, patients pay a relatively higher share of prescription drug costs out of their own pockets. The high cost of brand-name drugs has driven many Americans to import lower-cost versions from Canada and other nations.
Generics can cost as much as 80 percent less than their branded versions. General Motors Corp., for example, said employees in its prescription drug plan are paying 90 cents a pill for the generic version of cholesterol-lowering Zocor, which lost its patent last month, compared to as much as $4.50 for the branded version.
Users of rival cholesterol-fighter Lipitor, the nation's top-selling prescription medication whose patent doesn't expire until 2011, could also reap savings by switching to generic Zocor.
Not a loss of quality
The generic versions generally offer no loss in quality and effectiveness, medical experts say.
"For the vast majority of patients, generics work just like the brand drugs," said Debra R. Judelson, a Beverly Hills, Calif., cardiologist.
Phyllis Gottlieb, one of Judelson's patients, is enjoying significant savings because of generics. The 71-year-old retired Los Angeles resident uses five prescription drugs, including medicines treating high blood pressure and arthritis. She said she chooses generics whenever possible, and they help keep her monthly prescription tab under $100 a month.
"The prices of some brand drugs are absolutely phenomenal," said Gottlieb. "And I am insured. I am paying $50 at the cash register, and someone next to me is paying $200."
Generic drugs have been around for decades and their share of prescriptions filled have grown steadily over the years, accounting for just over half of all prescription drugs sold today versus a quarter two decades ago. That share could rise beyond 60 percent by the end of next year, said Ron Fontanetta, a health care specialist at Towers Perrin, a human resources consulting firm.
Patent rules
The upcoming surge of generics stems from an innovation boom in the early 1990s, when giant drug companies such as Merck & amp; Co. and Pfizer Inc. launched a series of blockbuster drugs.
By law, patents last about 20 years, but companies spend many of those years testing and getting government approvals for their new drugs. The creators are typically left with between 12 and 14 years of exclusive rights to sell the drugs, usually at high prices, to recoup the enormous costs in inventing and developing the treatments.
Many of those patents from the 1990s innovation wave are now beginning to expire.
How much consumers will save depends on how aggressively health plans and care providers steer patients to generics.