New Generics Study Lauds Savings

Generic drugs saved the nation’s health care system more than $824 billion from 2000 to 2009, according to an analysis by IMS Health, a health information company that tracks drug sales.

In 2009 alone, generic drugs saved the health system nearly $140 billion — or about $383 million a day — up from $121 billion in 2008, according to the analysis.

Last year, generics accounted for 75 percent of the prescriptions dispensed in the United States.