Medicaid

Generic and Biosimilar Drugs Generate A Record $373 Billion For America’s Patients and Healthcare System in 2021

sreilly — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 19:10:31 +0000

Generic and Biosimilar Drugs Generate A Record $373 Billion For America’s Patients and Healthcare System in 2021

Despite Savings from Generic Drugs, Many Patients Continue to Pay More than Necessary

WASHINGTON, DC (September 21, 2022) — Today, the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM), the leading trade association for generic and biosimilar manufacturers, released its 2022 U.S. Generic & Biosimilar Medicines Savings Report highlighting the value of generic and biosimilar medicines.

According to the analysis, the U.S. health care system, including patients, employers, and taxpayers, saved $373 billion in 2021 by using FDA-approved generic and biosimilar drugs.

Ninety-one percent of the prescriptions filled in the United States in 2021 were filled with generic drugs, but those prescriptions accounted for only 18.2% of the country’s drug spend. In addition to the systemic savings that the generic drug industry generates, generic drugs create significant out-of-pocket savings for individual patients. Ninety-three percent of generic drugs have copays under $20 (as compared to 59% of brand-name drugs), and their average copay is $6.16 compared to an average out-of-pocket cost of $56.12 for their brand counterparts.

The market for biosimilar drugs continues to expand, and as they approach nearly 30% of the overall biologics market, they saved patients over $7 billion dollars in 2021. The report finds the average sales price for biosimilars is on average 50% less than the reference brand biologic price. Further, competition from biosimilars has reduced the average sales price of their corresponding reference biologic by an average of 25%.

Voters continue to be alarmed over the cost of prescription drugs, and these findings only reinforce the critical importance of the generic and biosimilar drug industry to America’s patients.

“Often taken for granted, these savings are increasingly at risk,” said Dan Leonard, President and CEO of AAM. “Today, as a result of business decisions by middlemen, patients pay more than they should or are even prevented from the benefits of lower-cost generics and biosimilars overall. Policymakers must address these challenges and ensure patient access to more affordable generic and biosimilar medications.”

“Thanks to new biosimilar competition, more patients are receiving the care and medicines that they need,” said Craig Burton, Executive Director of the Biosimilars Council. “But new challenges on the horizon demand attention, including the launch of new pharmacy benefit biosimilars, ongoing gaps in biosimilar adoption, and brand rebate traps that continue to exploit perverse incentives in the health care system. The coming years will be critical to fulfill biosimilars’ promise for patients.”

Additional highlights from AAM’s 2022 Savings Report include:

Total Generic and Biosimilar Savings for 2021: $373 billion
Total Generic and Biosimilar Savings for Past 10 years: more than $2.6 trillion
Total Generic and Biosimilar Savings in Medicare for 2021: $119 Billion
Total Generic and Biosimilar Savings in Commercial Plans for 2021: $178 Billion
Generics represent 91% of prescriptions filled, yet account for only 18.2% of prescription drug spending
Even at nearly 6.4 billion generic and biosimilar prescriptions dispensed, generics represent only 3% of all health care spending

As in the past, this year’s report was developed utilizing independent research from IQVIA, which quantified how much money America's patients and the U.S. health care system are saving due to the use of generic and biosimilar alternatives.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Susan Reilly
Director of Communications, AAM
1.703.725.0729

About AAM

AAM 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. Generic and biosimilar medicines improve people’s lives, improving society and the economy in turn. AAM represents the manufacturers and distributors of finished generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars, manufacturers and distributors of bulk pharmaceutical chemicals, and suppliers of other goods and services to the generic industry. Generic pharmaceuticals are 91 percent of prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. but only 18 percent of total drug spending.

About the Biosimilars Council

The Biosimilars Council, a division of the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM), works to ensure a positive environment for patient access to biosimilar medicines. The Biosimilars Council is a 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, strategic partnerships, government affairs, legal affairs and regulatory policy. More information is available at www.biosimilarscouncil.org.

sreilly Wed, 09/21/2022 - 15:10

Issues

Report: 2022 U.S. Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Savings Report

eklinger — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 18:31:09 +0000

Report: 2022 U.S. Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Savings Reporteklinger Wed, 09/21/2022 - 14:31

Featuring data from IQVIA, the 2022 U.S. Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Savings Report reveals generic and biosimilar drugs generated a record $373 billion for America’s patients and healthcare system in 2021. Despite the tremendous savings from generic drugs, many patients continue to pay more than necessary.

View Report

The report breaks savings down by state, age, payer and common medical conditions and provides in-depth data at a moment when Voters continue to be alarmed over the cost of prescription drugs. These findings only reinforce the critical importance of the generic and biosimilar industry to America’s patients.

Here are the topline findings:

$373 billion: U.S. health care system savings

Up from 2020, which found $338 billion in generic and biosimilar savings, this figure indicates continued savings for the U.S. health care system, including patients, employers, and taxpayers.
91%: Portion of U.S. prescriptions filled by generic drugs

However, those prescriptions accounted for only 18.2% 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 brings costs down.
$6.16: The average generic copay

The amount paid at the pharmacy counter is what concerns patients. The average copay for brand-name drugs is more than nine times higher at $56.12. Fortunately, 93% of the time, the copay for a generic prescription is under $20 (as compared to 59% of brand-name drugs).
Over $7 billion: Biosimilars savings

The market for biosimilar drugs continues to expand, and as they approach nearly 30% of the overall biologics market. The report finds the average sales price for biosimilars is on average 50% less than the reference brand biologic price. Further, competition from biosimilars has reduced the average sales price of their corresponding reference biologic by an average of 25%.
$119 billion: Medicare savings

Medicare savings on generics and biosimilars is good news for seniors and taxpayers.
$178 billion: Commercial plan savings

Generics and biosimilars provide critical savings throughout the health care system and are particularly valuable to Medicare and employer-sponsored health insurance and the patients they serve. Despite these savings, many seniors are paying too much for their generics as a result of increasing copays, even when the price of their generic has declined.
3%: Healthcare Spending

Even at nearly 6.4 billion generic and biosimilar prescriptions dispensed, generics represent only 3% of all health care spending

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.

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Tell Congress to protect access to your safe, affordable generic and biosimilar medicines.

Issues

As Health Care Spending in US Projected to Increase, Generics and Biosimilars Expected to Moderate Growth

mstanford — Tue, 19 Apr 2022 16:13:00 +0000

As Health Care Spending in US Projected to Increase, Generics and Biosimilars Expected to Moderate Growthmstanford Tue, 04/19/2022 - 12:13

State of the Union: Generic and Biosimilar Savings for States and Taxpayers

eklinger — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 18:37:17 +0000

State of the Union: Generic and Biosimilar Savings for States and Taxpayers eklinger Wed, 02/09/2022 - 13:37

Generic Prices Are Falling, But Seniors Are Paying More for Generic Drugs. What’s Happening Here?

mstanford — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 14:02:34 +0000

Generic Prices Are Falling, But Seniors Are Paying More for Generic Drugs. What’s Happening Here?mstanford Wed, 01/26/2022 - 09:02

AAM Statement on The Protecting Access to Affordable Medicines Act

rschwartz — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 13:20:00 +0000

AAM Statement on The Protecting Access to Affordable Medicines Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 29, 2021) — “The Association for Accessible Medicines endorses The Protecting Access to Affordable Medicines Act, which helps ensure patients maintain uninterrupted access to low-cost medicines by fixing the misguided application of the Medicaid rebate to generic medicines.

We thank Representatives Butterfield (D-NC) and Long (R-MO) for introducing the act. We appreciate their work on behalf of patient access to generics and will work with them to advance this bipartisan legislation into law.”

ATTRIBUTE TO: AAM

Read Letter

MEDIA CONTACT:
Rachel Schwartz
202.249.7147

About AAM

AAM 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. Generic and biosimilar medicines improve people’s lives, improving society and the economy in turn. AAM represents the manufacturers and distributors of finished generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars, manufacturers and distributors 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 20 percent of total drug spending.

About the Biosimilars Council

rschwartz Thu, 04/29/2021 - 09:20

Issues

Medicaid

Roadmaps for Ensuring Patient Access to Generic and Biosimilar Medicines: Securing Sustainable Markets

eklinger — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 18:47:02 +0000

Roadmaps for Ensuring Patient Access to Generic and Biosimilar Medicines: Securing Sustainable Marketseklinger Mon, 02/22/2021 - 13:47

This paper examines the challenges to market sustainability for generic and biosimilar medicines that have cleared the regulatory and patent hurdles to obtain FDA approval and launch into the U.S. market. It is the first in a series of AAM papers that will highlight challenges to the overall sustainability of the generics and biosimilars industry. Future papers will examine threats to the balance between innovation and competition that drives generic and biosimilar development, including maintaining incentives to challenge brand-name drug patents and eliminating abuses of the patent system, as well as regulatory challenges relating to generics and biosimilars approval.

Issues

AAM Outlines Policy Solutions for Sustained Patient Access to Generic and Biosimilar Medicines

rschwartz — Mon, 22 Feb 2021 15:00:00 +0000

AAM Outlines Policy Solutions for Sustained Patient Access to Generic and Biosimilar Medicines

Association for Accessible Medicines Unveils Policy Agenda for
Biden Administration and 117th Congress
Outlines Policy Solutions to Support Long-Term Sustainability of Generic and Biosimilar Medicines

New Campaign Highlights Lifesaving Role Generic Drugs Have Played in Treatment of COVID-19
Report Series Examines Threats to Patient Access and Affordability

WASHINGTON, D.C. (FEBRUARY 22, 2021) – Today the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) and its Biosimilars Council shared their policy priorities for the Biden administration and 117th Congress, highlighting solutions to maintain the sustainability of generic and biosimilar competition.

In parallel, AAM launched a new advocacy campaign, “Secure Our Meds,” which includes a series of reports emphasizing the importance and resilience of the generic prescription medicine supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic. It examines those market factors that threaten the only part of the U.S. health care sector that saved the health care system $2.2 trillion over the past decade.

The first report in the series, “Securing Sustainable Markets,” examines the challenges to market sustainability for generic and biosimilar medicines.

The report outlines key steps that policymakers should take to ensure America’s patients continue to have access to lower-cost generic and biosimilar medicines, said Biosimilars Council Executive Director Christine Simmon. Together, these proposals could save patients and taxpayers an additional $20 billion over the next decade.

The policy recommendations include:

Fostering economic conditions to support domestic manufacturing of essential medicines;
Modernizing Medicare to ensure generic drugs are available to patients;
Aligning Medicare payment policies to encourage use of lower-cost biosimilars; and
Repealing or amending the Medicaid Generics Penalty to reduce its harmful impact on low-cost generics.

The report can be found here on secureourmeds.org.

Future papers will examine threats to the balance between innovation and competition that drives generic and biosimilar development, including maintaining incentives to challenge brand-name drug patents and eliminating abuses of the patent system, as well as regulatory challenges relating to generics and biosimilars approval.

Generic drugs comprise 90% of all prescriptions written in the United States but represent less than 20% of the overall health care spend. Over the past year as the coronavirus pandemic spread throughout the United States, generic drugs remained the most reliable and available treatment options for those patients suffering from COVID-19. From corticosteroids to control lung inflammation, to sedatives required for patient ventilation and more, generics saved countless lives. As the pandemic disrupted the global supply chain for medicine, the generic sector remained resilient, avoiding drug shortages despite export bans and skyrocketing shipping costs.

Lifesaving generic drugs continue to serve as a strong and sturdy bridge to the vaccine and ultimately immunity for patients around the world, said Dan Leonard, AAM president and CEO. Throughout the past year, as unprecedented challenges derailed the global supply chain for so many products, the generic drug industry remained steadfast in its commitment to patients and flexed to ensure that medicines reached those who needed it most. Leonard continued, As our policymakers seek to strengthen our health care system in anticipation of future threats, it’s critical that we advance policy solutions that support the long-term health of the generic and biosimilar industries.

Health care data firm IQVIA reports that over the past five years, price increases on brand-name drugs have generated an estimated additional $21 billion in brand manufacturer net revenue while generic drug price changes have resulted in a reduction of $7 billion over the same time period for generic drug makers.

While these facts seem to tell a positive story for patients and the U.S. health care system, they are the result of deflationary trends driven by market failure and misguided policy that threatens to drive many generic manufacturers out of the market. AAM’s policy solutions, presented in part in this first report, are designed to ensure that America's patients have access to effective and affordable generic and biosimilar medicines in the future.

Learn more at secureourmeds.org.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Rachel Schwartz
202.249.7147

About AAM

AAM 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. Generic and biosimilar medicines improve people’s lives, improving society and the economy in turn. AAM represents the manufacturers and distributors of finished generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars, manufacturers and distributors 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 20 percent of total drug spending.

About the Biosimilars Council

rschwartz Mon, 02/22/2021 - 10:00

Issues

AAM’s Recommendations to #SecureOurMeds

kmurphy — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 17:00:00 +0000

AAM’s Recommendations to #SecureOurMedskmurphy Fri, 01/29/2021 - 12:00

10 Takeaways from the Savings Report

eklinger — Wed, 19 Sep 2018 16:47:43 +0000

10 Takeaways from the Savings Report eklinger Wed, 09/19/2018 - 12:47