[Source: Health and Life Sciences Daily, August 8, 2007]
On its front page, the New York Times (8/8, A1, Saul) reports, "A quiet coup is taking place in American medicine cabinets." Although the "nation currently spends $275 billion a year on prescription medicines," analysts forecast that within the five years, Americans will see "a golden era for generic drugs, as patents begin to expire on brand-name medications with more than $60 billion in combined annual sales. That will open the door to copycats that may be 30 percent to 80 percent cheaper." Laizer Kornwasser, an executive for Medco Health Solutions, which manages prescription drug plans, says that America is "just in the beginning of the tidal wave" of generic drugs. While some experts worry that the brand-name companies are suffering "from a systemic decline in productivity," Caroline Loew, senior vice president for scientific and regulatory affairs for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said that she didn't think the group "would support the contention that there's a lull" in innovation because of the generics. She said, "The companies are tackling diseases that are extremely complex. The biological mechanisms are very poorly understood. By definition, that sort of science, which is very much emerging science, is going to take longer." The Times notes, "One way the pharmaceutical industry is working to counter the generic trend is through its own generic subsidiaries and contracts for the production of company authorized generics."
See here for additional information from the Wall Street Journal.
