90% of all prescriptions filled, yet only 12% of the spending, affordable medicines face severe sustainability challenges in the U.S.
WASHINGTON, DC (September 3, 2025) – The Association for Accessible Medicines and the Biosimilars Council today released the 2025 U.S. Generic & Biosimilar Medicines Savings Report. AAM’s annual savings report highlights that generic and biosimilar medicines created $467 billion in savings in 2024 for patients and the overall healthcare system. Generics and biosimilars have saved over $3.4 trillion in the last decade.
“Simply put: Generic medicines save money,” said John Murphy III, President and CEO of AAM. “Generics and biosimilars are the only sector that consistently results in decreased spending across the U.S. healthcare ecosystem. Unfortunately, right now little is being done to infuse sustainability into the generic and biosimilar marketplace. The significant price deflation of the last 30 years can lead to unsustainable market conditions for generic drug manufacturers, dangerously impacting patient care, and increasing the likelihood of shortages or even drugs leaving the market. Policymakers must streamline FDA processes, curb patent abuse, and stop PBMs and Medicare policies from denying patient access and rollback harmful federal policies – including IRA price controls.”
In 2024, generic and biosimilar medicines made up 90 percent of all prescriptions filled in the U.S. but are only 12 percent of overall drug spending. Brand medicines were 435 million prescriptions filled at a cost of $700 billion. Generic prescriptions filled were 3.9 billion prescriptions filled at a cost of $98 billion.
“The biosimilars industry celebrated a decade of pathbreaking progress, including new therapy areas, $56.2 billion in savings for patients and the healthcare system, and 3.3 billion days of patient therapy,” said Giuseppe Randazzo, Interim Executive Director, Biosimilars Council. “However, over the next decade, 118 biologics are expected to lose patent exclusivity, presenting a $234 billion opportunity for biosimilars. But of these 118 biologics, right now only 12 molecules have biosimilars in development – a ‘biosimilar void.’ Sustainability of our industry is not guaranteed – we must double down efforts to ensure the biosimilars market reaches its full potential.”
Additional highlights from the 2025 U.S. Generic & Biosimilar Medicines Savings Report:
- Total Generic and Biosimilar Savings for 2024: $467 billion
- Total Generic and Biosimilar Savings for Past 10 years: more than $3.4 trillion
- Total Generic and Biosimilar Savings in Medicare for 2024: $142 billion, $2,643 per beneficiary
- Generics and biosimilars represent 90% of prescriptions filled, but only 12% of prescription drug spending
- Generics and biosimilars represent only 1.2% of all healthcare spending
- Biosimilars have generated $56.2 billion in savings since 2015, and have been used in almost 3.3 billion days of patient therapy with no unique clinical challenges
- Biosimilars have expanded patient access to care by nearly 460 million days of therapy
The 2025 U.S. Generic & Biosimilar Medicines Savings Report was developed in partnership with the IQVIA Institute, continuing 15 years of collaboration to quantify the financial and therapeutic impacts of generic and biosimilar alternatives on the America’s patients and the U.S. healthcare system.
2025 U.S. Generic & Biosimilar Medicines Savings Report
For media inquiries, contact media@accessiblemeds.org.
About AAM
The Association for Accessible Medicines, your generics and biosimilars industry, is driven by the belief that access to safe, quality, effective medicine has a tremendous impact on a person’s life and the world around them. AAM represents the manufacturers of finished generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars, manufacturers of bulk pharmaceutical chemicals, and suppliers of other goods and services to the generic industry. Generic pharmaceuticals are 90 percent of prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. but only 12 percent of total drug spending.
About the Biosimilars Council
The Biosimilars Council, a division of the Association for Accessible Medicines, works to ensure a positive environment for patient access to biosimilar medicines. The Biosimilars Council is the leading source for information about the safety and efficacy of more affordable alternatives to costly brand biologic medicines. Areas of focus include public and health expert education, government affairs, legal affairs, and regulatory policy. More information is available biosimilarscouncil.org.
