Fox News reports that patents on several often-prescribed brand name drugs will expire in 2012. Drugs such as Plavix (heart and blood clot medicine), Actos (diabetes), Enbrel (autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis), Lexapro (anti-depressant), Seroquel ( ) will have their patents expire. Makers of generic drugs can begin making the generic versions and competition will result in lower prices.
What is the difference in brand name drugs and generic drugs? Brand name drugs are the newest drugs. It takes years of research and large sums of money to develop drugs. How much money you ask? I’ve read $800,000 and I’ve also read estimates of closer to a billion dollars. Large sums of money. When a new drug is developed, the pharmaceutical company gets a patent which protects their research from competitors. For the years of patent protection, no other company is allowed to make that drug and no competition exists. In the years of patent protection, the company sets their prices hoping to make back their research and development investment and make a profit. When the patent expires, competition begins as generic drug companies can produce competitive versions of brand name drugs. Prices drop with generic drugs.
Those of you who use the drugs mentioned, talk with your doctor about whether he thinks generic is acceptable.
Those of you who use the drugs mentioned, talk with your doctor about whether he thinks generic is acceptable.
No comments:
Post a Comment