Photo by Patrick Pelletier
Imatinib tablet cut with a pill splitter
The availability of generic imatinib has had limited effects on costs of the drug, according to research published in Health Affairs.
Data suggest the cost of Gleevec in the US has more than doubled since the drug was approved in 2001, and the introduction of generic imatinib has reduced costs only slightly.
Two years after generic imatinib hit the market, a month’s supply of Gleevec cost about $9000, and the cost for generic imatinib was about $8000.
“Patients and providers have all looked forward to generic entry, expecting major price reductions,” said study author Stacie Dusetzina, PhD, of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville, Tennessee.
“Unfortunately, we don’t see prices drop as quickly and as low as we would hope when generics are available.”
For this study, Dr Dusetzina and a colleague analyzed data from the MarketScan Commercial Research Database. The database contained records of 139,233 prescription fills for imatinib, which were made by 7201 patients from May 2001 through September 2017.
The researchers noted that Gleevec was priced at nearly $4000 for a 1-month (400 mg) supply when it came on the market in 2001. That price escalated to nearly $10,000 by 2015 before a generic competitor entered the market.
However, prices for Gleevec and generic imatinib remained high 2 years later. In 2017, a month’s supply of Gleevec cost about $9000, and the cost of generic imatinib was about $8000.
The researchers said the Gleevec case demonstrates several potential barriers to effective generic price competition, including shifts in prescribing toward more expensive brand-name treatments and smaller-than-expected price reductions.
Twenty-four percent of imatinib (Gleevec) prescriptions claims were for “dispense as written,” according to the researchers. This suggests that patients or providers specifically wanted to stay on the brand-name drug instead of switching to the generic.
“The more than doubling of the drug price over time and the lack of price reductions observed with nearly 2 years of generic drug competition is concerning,” Dr Dusetzina said.
“It begs the question whether we can rely on generic entry as a primary approach to address drug pricing for high-priced specialty medications. We need robust competition to move prices in this space.”