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July 25, 2008 10:36:41 PM CDT

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Generics Curb Rise in Drug Costs

Posted Aug 8, 07 6:37 PM CDT in US,  Science & Health 

(Newser) – Scores of prescription drugs are getting cheaper, as name-brand patents expire and open the door to generic imitators. That's bad news for pharmaceutical companies, the Times reports, but it means that an aging population ever more reliant on drugs will be paying as much as 80 percent less for them.

Big-name companies have been hit hard with the rise of generics, with one industry giant announcing layoffs last week and another showing $329M in losses. But with generics already accounting for 60 percent of prescriptions, drug makers are planning to offset losses by offering generic brands of their own products—and shifting cash to research to find the next blockbuster.

Source New York Times

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Bottles of prescription medications move along a production line at Medco Health Solutions, Inc.'s Willingboro Dispensing Pharmacy in this Feb. 28, 2006 file photo. Medco's profits have been greatly aided...   (Associated Press)
As patents on brand-name prescription drugs expire, analysts forecast a golden age of generic alternative availability.   (Shutterstock.com)
pills   ((c) plasticrevolver)
%u201CThere%u2019s a tidal wave of generic drugs, and we are just in the beginning of the tidal wave,%u201D said Laizer Kornwasser, an executive for Medco Health Solutions.   ((c) plasticrevolver)
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health  • drugs  • medicine  • pharmaceutical companies  • health care costs  • pharma  • generic drugs  • brands


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