Top Sales Drugs: Choosing the best option
As a drug’s patent approaches its expiration date, the pharmaceutical company that developed it will often launch a renewed marketing effort. These campaigns — which may include advertisements and supplemental rebates, as well as drug samples and provider visits from sales representatives — are designed to encourage current and potential patients, along with their providers, to keep using the branded medication. Some pharmaceutical companies may also reformulate a drug to regain patent exclusivity, without offering substantive advantages over the generic formulation of the original.
State Medicaid directors, pharmacy directors, and Medicaid managed care organizations need unbiased information to accurately compare the short-term savings offered by the drug companies’ supplemental rebate programs with the long-term savings generated by using the alternative generic formulations. UMass Medical School’s Clinical Pharmacy Services, offers independent evaluation of each medication within the context of your organization’s individual circumstances and goals.
Since manufacturing rights are often held by a single manufacturer during the first six months of generic availability, the generic price may initially be higher than the cost of the brand name with supplemental rebates. But when other companies can join in the production of the generic drug, the prices fall precipitously.
A supplemental rebate agreement for a brand name drug is more expensive in the long run. These agreements are binding and seek to lock in a long-term price for the brand-name drug — a price that will seem high once the generic formulation has been available for six months.
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