Changes

The price difference between generics and brand names is not small. For example, the brand name version of a drug commonly prescribed for high blood pressure costs almost three times as much as the generic version.<ref>Merck's brand name: Prinivil; generic name: Lisinopril; prices quoted by [http://www.drugstore.com/pharmacy/prices/drugprice.asp?ndc=00006020782&trx=1Z5006 an online pharmacy] for 20 mg tablets: Prinivil $176.26/180 = $0.98 each; Lisinopril $63.97/180 = $0.36 each.</ref>  

The price difference between generics and brand names is not small. For example, the brand name version of a drug commonly prescribed for high blood pressure costs almost three times as much as the generic version.<ref>Merck's brand name: Prinivil; generic name: Lisinopril; prices quoted by [http://www.drugstore.com/pharmacy/prices/drugprice.asp?ndc=00006020782&trx=1Z5006 an online pharmacy] for 20 mg tablets: Prinivil $176.26/180 = $0.98 each; Lisinopril $63.97/180 = $0.36 each.</ref>  

"Generic drugs now account for about 12 percent of the nation's $250 billion a year in drug spending and more than 53 percent of prescriptions filled. IMS Health, a company that tracks the industry, predicts that the percentage will exceed 65 percent within four years as several blockbuster drugs go off patent. Express Scripts, which manages pharmacy benefits for many insurers, estimates that the figure could be 70 to 75 percent by 2010."<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/03/AR2006020302598.html</ref>

"Generic drugs now account for about 12 percent of the nation's $250 billion a year in drug spending and more than 53 percent of prescriptions filled. IMS Health, a company that tracks the industry, predicts that the percentage will exceed 65 percent within four years as several blockbuster drugs go off patent. Express Scripts, which manages pharmacy benefits for many insurers, estimates that the figure could be 70 to 75 percent by 2010."<ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/03/AR2006020302598.html</ref>

"[[India]] is a hub of generic drug production, already producing 22 per cent of the world's generic drugs, and the industry there has begun to challenge US drug patents."<ref>http://www.biopharma-reporter.com/news/ng.asp?n=76773-dr-reddy-s-biogen-idec-authorised-generics-acquisitions-active-pharmaceutical-ingredients</ref>

"[[India]] is a hub of generic drug production, already producing 22 per cent of the world's generic drugs, and the industry there has begun to challenge US drug patents."<ref>http://www.biopharma-reporter.com/news/ng.asp?n=76773-dr-reddy-s-biogen-idec-authorised-generics-acquisitions-active-pharmaceutical-ingredients</ref>