Drug Costs to Fall as Major Patents Expire

Many U.S. patients may be able to save money on drugs soon. Several popular brand-name drugs are losing patent protection in the next 14 months. They are likely to face less costly generic competition soon afterward. Patents will include many blockbusters, the Associated Press (AP) said July 26. Among them are the world’s two top sellers, Lipitor and Plavix. Lipitor (atorvastatin) is a cholesterol drug. Plavix (clopidogrel) is a blood thinner. Others with expiring patents include drugs for blood pressure, asthma, diabetes, depression, high triglycerides and other conditions. Among them are 5 of the top 20 drugs sold in the world, AP said. Generic medicines are chemically equivalent to the brand-name drugs that they copy. They work in the same way. They typically cost 20% to 80% less than brand-name drugs.