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Dramatic and unprecedented price spikes for generic drugs have become far more prevalent in recent months, local pharmacists say.
Dominic Bartone, president of Hock’s Pharmacy and Medical Supply in Vandalia, estimates he’s seen price spikes for 75 to 80 generic drugs in the past six months. In the past, he said, it was more typical to see two or three price spikes during that time span.
“Very seldom in the past have generic drugs gone up in price,” Bartone said. “Typically, they go down in price.”
That’s changed this year in a big way for certain generic drugs, as demonstrated by prices provided by Hock’s Pharmacy and Clark’s Rx. Gabapentin, a seizure medication, recently doubled from $39 to $78 per prescription. Doxepin, used to treat depression and anxiety, tripled from $13 to $39. And betamethasone, used to treat skin conditions, more than quadrupled in price recently, from $11 to $45.
Americans spent $307 billion on medicines in 2010, and generics accounted for 78 percent of all U.S. prescriptions last year, according to IMS Health, which tracks the pharmaceutical industry.
The hefty price hikes have begun creeping into more commonly prescribed medications, said Chad Meyers, pharmacy manager at Clark’s Rx in Franklin.
Tony Rattini, president and CEO of Miami-Luken, Inc. in Springboro, a regional drug wholesaler, said there are several reasons for the price hikes. Among those reasons:
- Drug recalls and plant shutdowns, reducing supply. The nation is on pace to eclipse last year's record 211 drug shortages, according to the University of Utah Drug Information Service.
“When one company has a manufacturing problem or raw material supply problem, there isn’t enough resiliency in the supply chain for other manufacturers to step up,” said Erin Fox, manager of the Drug Information Service.
- More manufacturing of drugs from raw materials obtained overseas, introducing a potential source of volatility for availability and price.
- Generic drugs becoming so cheap for consumers in recent years that some manufacturers have decided they're no longer profitable to make. As generics manufacturing is concentrated in fewer hands, remaining manufacturers seize more control over prices.
- As patents expire on a number of blockbuster brand-name drugs — such as the cholesterol drug Lipitor later this year — drug companies are seeking to boost revenues elsewhere. Some brand-name drug makers have diversified by buying generic drug manufacturers. That, combined with the merging of generic drug companies, has fueled industry consolidation.
A spokesman for the Generic Pharmaceutical Association declined comment.
Most patients see only the flat co-pays for their prescriptions, so they’re often shielded from the sticker shock of higher generic prices and unaware of the impact such price hikes might eventually have on their insurance premiums, Bartone said. Large, self-insured employers are more likely to notice the price spikes for their employees’ medications.
A spokeswoman for Wellpoint, parent of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the state’s largest private health insurer, said it has required a higher co-pay for two generic medications due to higher prices.
But Wellpoint said it hasn’t seen a short-term increase in generics pricing overall.
“Over the longer term, we have seen the price of generic pharmaceuticals increase but we are committed to promoting generics,” Wellpoint said in a statement.
There is a lot of volatility in the generics industry, said Ernest Boyd, executive director of the Ohio Pharmacists Association. But thanks to expiring patents, several brand-name drugs have dropped — or will soon drop — precipitously in price, he said. “Overall, drug costs have dropped like a rock.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7457 or bsutherly@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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