Statin Savings: New Generic Options Could Boost Brand Switches, Cut Costs For Medicare
This article was originally published in The Pink Sheet Daily
Executive Summary
Introduction of new, more effective generic statins could yield $8.2 bil. for Medicare benefit in 2007, Consumers Union report says.
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Use of generic statins instead of brand statins could save the Medicare program $8.2 bil. in 2007, according to a Consumers Union analysis released Jan. 11. More than half of that savings could come from switching patients on Pfizer's Lipitor , the Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs report finds. Assuming a 20% discount off retail for the Medicare beneficiaries, there would be "an estimated savings of $4.9 bil. in 2007 if all the Lipitor users were switched to generic lovastatin." "Lower-cost cholesterol drugs are just as effective and safe, and savings from them could be dramatic," project director Gail Shearer maintained. A daily dose of the one statin currently available as a generic, lovastatin, costs just $1, compared to $2.50 to $5 for competing brands, the report says. Consumers Union noted that lovastatin also is "a less potent LDL reducer" than other statins, including market leaders Lipitor (atorvastatin) and Zocor (simvastatin). However, the expected introduction of two more effective generics - Zocor and Pravachol (pravastatin) -later this year will put effectiveness of generics on par with brands, the group added. The report estimates that 12 mil. Medicare beneficiaries will use statins in 2007, with half requiring something more potent than lovastatin, such as simvastatin. - Bowman Cox |