I’m proud to share that PharmacyChecker has published a white paper that examines prices and availability of newly approved generic drugs. Our report, based on 40 generic medications that were approved from 2017-2018, clearly shows that generic drug approvals often don’t lead to greater affordability or even access here in the U.S. We were inspired to examine pricing in addition to availability after seeing availability research conducted by Kaiser Health News (KHN).
The KHN article concluded that the lack to generic availability in the U.S. “means thousands or even millions of patients have no option beyond buying branded drugs that can cost thousands of dollars per month.” As an option for those who cannot afford that, PharmacyChecker found that 25% of the generic medications were available online, internationally through pharmacies that are accredited in the PharmacyChecker Verification Program.
Out of 40 generic medications that were approved from 2017 to 2018, PharmacyChecker research found the following:
- 42.5% (17) are not available in the U.S.
- 10 are available to order internationally
- The brand in the U.S. is cheaper than the U.S. generic for 3 of the drugs.
- Of the 10 generic drugs available internationally, the prices are on average 85% lower than prices in the U.S.
- 60% (24) of the brand-name versions are available at accredited international online pharmacies
- Of those, 23 brand-name drugs available internationally cost on average 74% less than the brand version sold in the U.S.
- Of those, 14 of the brand-name drugs available internationally cost on average 73% less than the U.S. generic versions.
In addition to data analysis of the generic drug prices and those of their brand counterparts, we provide insight on why generics are approved but don’t seem to be available. We also help decipher why newly approved generics are still expensive, including ways patients can access affordable newly approved generics. We give a short overview of the safety of personal medicine imports from accredited international online pharmacies, and discuss brand versus generic quality across different countries.
Read the white paper: Newly Approved Generics: Cost and Lack of Availability in the United States
