Reports
EU publishes consensus report on biosimilars
The European Commission’s (EC’s) Enterprise and Industry Directorate-General has published a new report providing comprehensive information on the concept of biosimilars.
More UK patients affected by drug shortages in 2012
The number of UK patients affected by shortages in brand-name medicines has increased during 2012, according to an online survey carried out by pharmacists’ organization Chemist+Druggist (C+D).
Patients in US turn to generics to save money
According to a new report released on 9 April 2013 by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults in the US used several strategies to reduce the costs of their medications, including asking their doctor for a lower-cost (generic) medicine.
Huge differences in prescription drug prices in Ireland
A survey carried out by Ireland’s National Consumer Agency (NCA) has found that the price of many commonly prescribed medicines varies widely across Ireland.
Fewer generics approved in the US during 2012
FDA approved fewer generics for the US market during 2012 than in 2011, according to a new report from Thomson Reuters.
India supplies 20% of generic drugs worldwide
Every fifth tablet, capsule and injectable generic drug being used in the world is manufactured in India, according to India’s Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Inequality in Europe over access to biologicals for arthritis
Data from a study presented at the European League Against Rheumatism’s Annual European Congress of Rheumatology, EULAR Congress 2012, demonstrates the vast inequalities in access to biologicals for the treatments of rheumatoid arthritis across 46 European countries [1, 2].
Prescribing in Scotland increases but drug costs drop
Spending on medicine in Scotland was 11% less in 2011–2012 compared to spending in 2004–2005. This is despite the volume of prescriptions increasing by 33% during that time, according to a new report by Audit Scotland.
Pay-for-delay on the increase in the US
During 2012 the number of potentially anticompetitive patent dispute settlements between brand-name and generics companies in the US increased significantly compared with 2011 according to a new report released on 17 January 2013 by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Patients persuade doctors to prescribe brand-name rather than generic drugs
Doctors are persuaded by patients to prescribe brand-name drugs when generic drugs are available. That is according to results of a survey carried out by researchers from the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital and published in JAMA Internal Medicine [1].
