About GPhA

The Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA) commissioned IMS Health and the IMS Institute for Health Care Informatics to conduct a 10-year supplemental savings analysis (2001-2010).

The results of the IMS analysis are astounding. For the decade 2001 through 2010, the use of generic prescription drugs in place of their brand-name counterparts saved the nation’s health care system $931 billion dollars. In 2010 alone, the use of FDA-approved generics saved $158 billion, an average of $3 billion every week. From the IMS analysis, GPhA makes the following observations:

• Savings from generic medications that have entered the market since 2001 have continued to grow at an exponential rate, reaching more than $360 billion by the end of 2010;
• Generic products for nervous system and cardiovascular treatments alone account for 62 percent of the cost savings;
• Despite having nearly seven times as many products on the market, generic medications still accounted for less drug spending than branded products with generic competition; and
• Over the past 10 years, patent settlements have resulted in billions of dollars in savings as dozens of first-time generics have come to market prior to patents expiring on the counterpart brand drugs.

GPhA believes that the study is predictive of the greater savings that could be achieved in future years through the implementation of initiatives to:

1. Increase funding of FDA’s Office of Generic Drugs to ensure the timely review and approval of new generic pharmaceuticals;
2. Ensure that the FDA creates an approval process for biogenerics that is workable and free from obstacles that would serve only to delay the availability of safe, effective and lower-cost biologic drugs; and
3. Provide access to affordable generics by continuing to allow generic manufacturers to settle patent challenges, bringing generics to market sooner and generating additional savings for American consumers.