Health Insurance Daily

The Generic Onslaught

All told, pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts estimates that giving generics instead of brand-name pills for common diseases whenever possible could save up to $25 billion this year alone. Generic versions of pills are generally between 30% and 80% cheaper than the brand names.

In coming years, things only look worse for Big Pharma--and better for health insurers and consumers. By 2011, up to a quarter of the drug sales booked this year will have been eroded by generics. Pfizer's cholesterol pill Lipitor, the world's best-selling drug (worldwide sales: $12 billion), and the antipsychotic Zyprexa, Eli Lilly's top seller, are among the nearly two-dozen drugs that could face patent expiration that year.

To read this article in its entirety click on Pharmaceuticals.

posted by Mike @ 9:22 AM