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Combo Pills Offer Convenience Versus Cost

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The Chicago Tribune

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 21, 2008

Updated: 10/21/2008 12:33 am

Popping so many pills that you sometimes forget to take a medication? The drug companies think they have the answer: combination pills, which aim to treat several ailments in one medication. However, buyer beware: Analysts say the all-in-one movement generally comes with a higher price.

How do drug companies benefit from combo pills?

It offers drugmakers a new patent and, therefore, a new way to make money on brand-name prescriptions that in many cases have cheaper generic equivalents. For example, in the cholesterol market in the United States, brand-name prescriptions account for nearly $20 billion in annual sales, but cheaper generics are eroding those sales.

It also takes just a few years to research and develop a combination product because its ingredients have been on the market, compared with the originals that took a decade or longer.

What should consumers know?

Insurers, pharmacies and employers are stepping up efforts to encourage generics because they can be up to 50 percent cheaper, even if you have to take more than one pill. Talk to your doctor about your options.

Sources: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois; Midwest Business Group on Health; IMS Health; National Council on Patient Information and Education

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