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The effect of generic market entry on antibiotic prescriptions in the US

When patented, brand-name antibiotics lose market exclusivity, generics typically enter the market at lower prices, which may increase the consumption of the drug. To examine the effect of generic market entry on antibiotic consumption in the United States, researchers conducted an interrupted time series analysis of the change in the number of prescriptions per month for antibiotics for which at least one generic entered the US market between 2000 and 2012. Findings show that one year after generic entry, the number of prescriptions increased for five antibiotics (5 to 406%)—aztreonam, cefpodoxime, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, ofloxacin—and decreased for one drug: cefdinir. These changes were sustained two years after.

Nature, 18 May 2021