Evidence of effectiveness in cost saving of generic drug expansion policies Generic drugs can save healthcare expenditures through three main pathways including generic substitution of drugs, substitution of drugs in the same therapeutic class, and reduction in the average branded prices. First, the largest cost saving comes from the generic substitution of drugs by substituting the less expensive generic drug for the therapeutically equivalent branded drugs. Generic substitution rates are almost 90 percent when there is generic equivalent available. Second, therapeutic substitution is switching to a generic from a branded drug in the same therapeutic class.12 For example, the prescriptions of Lipitor declined from 43 percent of total statin…
Paying for prescription drugs is no longer a problem just for the poor. As the economy continues to struggle, the amount of health insurance benefits are shrinking. Employers are requiring workers to pay more of the costs themselves, and many businesses are dropping health benefits altogether. People are dropping their insurance plans trying to save as much money as they can leaving less customers for insurance companies. The result is that remaining customers have to pay a greater fraction of…
Soaring price of generic drugs: Depriving consumers from better healthcare Generic drugs prices are rising exponentially with every passing year. Generic drugs are regarded as a boon to mankind not only because they are comparable to their brand counterparts in terms of quality, safety and efficacy but also because they are affordable by all the people irrespective of their financial class. A survey revealed that generic drugs have saved US patient’s 1.3 trillion dollar in past decade. But with…
exploit, especially since pharmaceutical counterfeiting involves low risk, but high reward. Criminals follow the money and typically counterfeit expensive patented drugs rather than generics. For example, a well-known anti-retroviral triple combination drug regimen costs over $12,000 per year, whereas unlicensed generic companies sell the same drugs in underdeveloped countries for under $200 per year.15 This yields a 60:1 ratio, which attracts counterfeiters. Even worse, contraceptives and…
A drug named Daraprim price was raised by 5000%, from $13.50 to $750 per pill. Many cases similar to Daraprim have happened, and a pattern of massive price increase of many life saving drugs by pharmaceutical companies becomes apparent. Expensive drugs had forced patients to make difficult choices, either to cut down basic needs to save money to buy the needed drugs, or to cut down the use of the drugs itself. Americans start blaming drug companies of price gouging and call for drug prices…
expense demands of their supply chain. This drastic price increase in this life-saving device has brought scrutiny to the firm as another greedy pharmaceutical giant (Popken, 2016). This increase has caused the firm to fall under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which was brought on by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Senators Richard Blumenthal and Amy Klobuchar (McLaughlin, Forden, and Hopkins, 2017). Being under the magnifying glass of the public eye has come…
Bayer Corporation. The decision of this case led to a major change in the patent industry wherein to maintain public health compulsory license was granted to a generic manufacturer. The case mainly involved the issue of granting compulsory license to Natco Pharma on the grounds that Bayer Corporation was not fulfilling the conditions and thus according to section 84 of Indian patent act, Natco is entitle for compulsory licensing. The brief facts of this case are Bayer Corporation was…
and the profiteers and distributors of drugs feign ignorance over the corruption of the industry. Unfortunately, these issues are deeply rooted in the history and practices of doctors and pharmaceutical companies. The United States healthcare system needs to be reformed because not only do the underinsured receive secondary treatment due to the Food and Drug Administration standards, but doctors pocket “gifts” from prescription drug companies and those with…
companies - Pfizer, Merck, Eli Lilly, Schering-Plough, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Abbott Laboratories accounting for a combined sales exceeding $137 billion. Changing forces within the Industry: The year 2007 saw the industry entering into a new era because of the current model becoming obsolete. The forces that resulting in the changes were: • Pressure on sales due to large number of high revenue drug patents on the verge of expiring over the next five years. Also the drugs in the pipeline…
i. As of 2014, Global Pharma sales had reached over a trillion dollars, and they are continuing to climb every year. With the advent of electronic medical records, the era of data driven marketing by Big Pharma has come under several ethical issues. With patient’s data being readily available for purchase by Pharmaceutical companies, their drug reps can pinpoint which doctors to approach, and which drugs they should approach them with. Drug reps generally only approach doctors that write a…