Generic drugs reduce cost of hypothyroidism
Roughly $356 million could be saved each year if the estimated 8 million Americans with hypothyroidism switched from expensive name brand drugs to generic or less expensive drugs, according to a study in the April 16, 1997, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Researchers at the University of California at San Francisco, compared four preparations of levothyroxine sodium, the drug used to treat hypothyroidism. Researchers followed 22 female patients with hypothyroidism over a six-month period. Participants received each of four levothyroxine products, one expensive name brand product, one less expensive name brand product, and two generic products for six-week periods in random order.
At the end of each six-week period, researchers drew blood samples from each participant to measure the concentration of the drug in her blood. Researchers found no significant differences in the effectiveness of the four drugs in the study.
Pharmacists fill about 15 million prescriptions for levothyroxine annually. Researchers claim their findings are significant because physicians routinely prescribe the more expensive brand-name versions of the drug out of concern that generic products might not work as well.
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