Dynamics of prices and consumption of anticancer drugs in Russia after their generics and biosimilars became available

Abstract

Since generics and biosimilars have entered the Russian market of medications, there are new trends in the general picture of drug prices and consumption. In the present study, we analyze these trends to enable the prediction of possible savings or redistribution of funds in the area of anticancer drug supply, with a special view on highly expensive medications. The aim of this study is to identify changes in the market prices and consumption of medications for the treatment of solid tumors. Materials and methods . We analyzed the dynamics of prices and consumption rates of eight international non-proprietary names (INN) of anticancer drugs, whose generics or biosimilars entered the Russian pharmaceutical market in 2010-2018. Results. With an overall downward trend in prices, differences between individual drugs become apparent with time of joint circulation in the market. The rates of increase/decrease in the prices of the reference drugs that circulate together with generics/biosimilars for at least 4 years, have changed from -50 to +22%; for the respective generics/biosimilars, the figures ranged from -35 to -69%. After generics/biosimilars have entered the market in the Russian Federations, the consumption of the INNs have been increasing, but again with different paces for different drugs. Conclusion . With a general downward trend in prices and an increase in consumption of anticancer medications, there are significant differences in this dynamics as far as individual INNs are concerned. Additional studies are needed to identify factors having an impact on the prices and drug consumption of INNs after their generics/biosimilars have become available. For example, the number of original drugs with expired patent protection may be important. Without a good understanding of such factors, it is difficult to predict the size of savings and the possibility of their redistribution within the budget framework.