U.S. Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Savings Report
Generics and biosimilar medicines deliver more savings every year.
At a moment when policymakers are contemplating measures to reduce drug prices for American patients, AAM’s 2023 U.S. Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Savings Report, featuring data from IQVIA, breaks the savings down by state, age, payer, common medical conditions and more.
Because tens of millions of Americans entrust their health to generics and biosimilars, they saved $408 billion in 2022, and more than $2.9 trillion in the last decade.
U.S. biosimilars savings increased to $9.4 billion in 2022 and nearly $24 billion since first biosimilar entry in 2015.
“Amid daily news coverage of prescription drug pricing lies the under-appreciated success story of generic and biosimilar medicines,” said David Gaugh, Interim President and CEO of AAM. “This report provides a comprehensive review of the evidence that patients and the health care system rely on this industry to maintain vitality.”
Amid daily news coverage of prescription drug pricing lies the under-appreciated success story of generic and biosimilar medicines,said David Gaugh, Interim President and CEO of AAM.This report provides a comprehensive review of the evidence that patients and the health care system rely on this industry to maintain vitality.
Patients and taxpayers saved $408 billion in 2022
Up from 2021, which found $373 billion in generic and biosimilar savings, this figure indicates continued savings for the U.S. health care system, including patients, employers, and taxpayers. Generics and biosimilars have saved patients and U.S. health care system $2.9 trillion in the past 10 years.
90% of U.S. prescriptions filled, 17.5% of Rx drug spending
Although generic and biosimilar prescriptions account for 90% of prescriptions filled in the U.S., they account for only 17.5% of the country’s spending on prescription drugs. In other words, costly brand-name products account for the bulk of pharmaceutical spending. The generics and biosimilars industry bring costs down.
Less than 2% of total health care spending
Generics represent only 1.5% of all U.S. health care spending.
$130 billion in Medicare and $194 billion in commercial health plan savings
Up from $119 billion and $178 billion in 2021, generics and biosimilars continue to provide critical savings throughout the health-care system and are particularly valuable to Medicare, employer-sponsored health insurance and the patients they serve. Despite these savings, many patients are paying too much for their generics as a result of increasing copays, even when the price their generic is sold for has declined.
The average generic copay is $6.16, brands cost patients almost 9X more
The amount patients pay at the pharmacy counter is where concerns lie. The average copay for brand-name drugs is more than nine times higher at $56.12. Fortunately, 93% of generic prescriptions are dispensed under $20 (as compared to 59% of brand-name drugs).
$9.4 billion in savings from biosimilars and $23.6 billion since first biosimilar entry in 2015
The market for biosimilar drugs continues to expand. The report finds the average sales price for biosimilars is on average 50% less than the reference brand biologic price was at the time of biosimilar launch. Further, competition from biosimilars has reduced the average sales price of their corresponding brand biologic by an average of 25%.
Biosimilars used in almost 694 million total days of patient therapy
Since 2015, biosimilars have been used in almost 700 million days of patient therapy with no unique clinical challenges. In fact, biosimilar competition has now supported more than 344 million incremental days of therapy — care that patients would not have received otherwise.
AAM publishes these findings annually to ensure policymakers, health-care professionals, advocates and the public know the vital role that safe, effective, FDA-approved generics and biosimilars play in health of our nation.
Savings by State
How much did your state save from generic and biosimilar medicines in 2022? To view a full breakdown of savings and more facts, choose a state in the drop-down menu to download a one-page summary.
Please note: state savings totals are rounded from actual totals.
Savings by Patient Condition
No matter what condition you or your family members are experiencing, generic and biosimilar prescription medicines are saving you money. Savings for cancer totaled $20.6 billion in 2022 and $124 billion for the past 10 years.
We have compiled patient savings for top conditions into Savings by Condition fact sheets with data produced for AAM by IQVIA. In addition to a breakdown of one-year savings and 10-year savings, patients can also see their generic savings for common co-morbidities of each of these conditions.
Download a Savings by Condition Fact Sheet:
Social Media Toolkit
Generic and biosimilar drugs generated a record $408 billion for America’s patients and healthcare system in 2022. Despite the tremendous savings from generic drugs, many patients continue to pay more than necessary.
Please remember to tag @AccessibleMeds and @BiosimsCouncil in your posts and use #GRxBiosimsSavingsReport to be a part of the conversation.
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Annual savings from #generics & #biosimilars exceeded $408 billion in 2022, an increase of $35 billion from 2021. Because of their lower costs, #genericmedicines represent more than 90% of the prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. https://accessiblemeds.org/resources/reports/2023-savings-report #GRxBiosimsSavingsReport
How much did your state save? The @accessiblemeds 2023 #GRxBiosimsSavingsReport presents data on state-by-state generic drug savings in 2022: https://accessiblemeds.org/resources/ reports/2023-savings-report #generics #biosimilars #savings
The average biosimilar price is more than 50% lower than the brand biologic price at the time of biosimilar launch. Since 2015, #biosimilars has saved U.S. patients nearly $24B. Read more in @accessiblemeds #GRxBiosimsSavingsReport: https://accessiblemeds.org/resources/reports/2023-savings-report #remarklygeneric
To date, the @US_FDA has approved over 42 biosimilars across 15 molecules. 36 biosimilars are on the market with prices averaging more than 50% less than the reference brand biologic price at launch. https://accessiblemeds.org/resources/reports/2023-savingsreport #GRxBiosimsSavingsReport #biosimilars @BiosimsCouncil
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- 90% of the 6.4 billion prescriptions filled in 2022 were for #generics and #biosimilars. However, they accounted for only 17.5% of spending on #Rx medicines. View the full #GRxBiosimsSavingsReport report from @accessiblemeds: https://accessiblemeds.org/resources/reports/2023-savings-report #patientaccess #remarklygeneric
- Despite making up more than 9 out of every 10 prescriptions, spending on generic medicines accounts for roughly 1.5% of total U.S. health care spending. Read more in @accessiblemeds #GRxBiosimsSavingsReport: https://accessiblemeds.org/resources/reports/2023-savings-report #patientaccess #remarklygeneric
- .@accessiblemeds #GRxBiosimsSavingsReport shows that generic & biosimilar medicines provide critical savings throughout the health care system. In 2022, the use of generics & biosimilars saved $130B in #Medicare. https://accessiblemeds.org/resources/reports/2023-savings-report #remarklygeneric
- The average copay for #generic prescription is only $6.16, compared with the average brand copay of $56.12. View the full #GRxBiosimsSavingsReport report from @accessiblemeds: https://accessiblemeds.org/resources/reports/2023-savings-report #patientaccess #drugpricing #remarklygeneric