Saturday, February 16, 2008

Generics Capture 65% of U.S. Market as Costs Rise (Update1)

Two-thirds of prescriptions filled in the U.S., the most ever, are cheap copies of brand names made by generic-drug companies.

Generics accounted for 65 percent of the U.S. market last year, up from 63 percent in 2006, according to data released today at the Generic Pharmaceutical Association's annual industry meeting in Boca Raton, Florida. Costlier brand-name drugs made up about 80 percent of dollars spent on prescriptions in each year.

The figures, compiled by the research firm IMS Health Inc., show generic drugmakers are capitalizing on expiring patents and efforts by insurers to rein in health-care costs. The companies seek further gains this year as drugs with $20 billion in annual sales lose patent protection and the presidential candidates promise to make generic drugs more widely available.

``We're poised to do very well,'' said Kathleen Jaeger, president of the Arlington, Virginia-based Generic Pharmaceutical Association, in an interview yesterday. ``All the candidates believe that generics are part of the answer.''

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