More relief for arthritis sufferers: Generic Celebrex hits stores
Arthritis sufferers could pay much lower prices for a blockbuster painkiller since Mylan Inc. and two other drug companies on Wednesday started selling generic versions of Celebrex.
Despite criticism that the generic pharmaceutical industry has jacked up prices this year, experts predict the price of celecoxib, the chemical name for generic Celebrex, will cost 90 percent less than Pfizer Inc.'s branded version.
That could mean significant savings for the hundreds of thousands of Americans who take the painkiller, which retails for $2 to $11 a pill, depending on dosage strength.
And while Pfizer's revenue will take a hit, sales at Cecil-based Mylan and its competitors, Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Actavis Plc in Ireland, will receive a modest boost, said Jeff Loo, an analyst with S&P Capital IQ in New York.
“It's a large-selling drug, so it clearly will help them,” Loo said. “But it's not really going to move the needle that much.”
The bigger effect will be enjoyed by consumers, who can expect a major price cut in coming years.
“It's a big drop-off,” Loo said. “It'll be similar to when Pfizer lost the patent for (cholesterol fighter) Lipitor.”
When Lipitor, or atorvastatin, lost patent protection in 2012, Mylan and other companies began selling generics, resulting in Pfizer's sales of the drug falling from $9.6 billion in 2011 to $2.3 billion in 2013.
Similarly, Loo predicts Celebrex will generate less than $1 billion in sales for Pfizer in 2015, after bringing in about $2.5 billion in the past 12 months.
That could be welcome relief for patients, who in some cases have been paying significantly higher for generic drugs that were once less-expensive alternatives.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill last month criticized drugmakers for skyrocketing prices on some drugs. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, said Digoxin, a medication used to treat congestive heart failure, jumped from 12 cents a pill to $1.06 a pill in the past year. He also cited the price increase for Divalproex, a migraine medication, which climbed from 27 cents a pill to $2.38 a pill.
The Generic Pharmaceutical Association has defended the industry, stating that a few isolated examples do not reflect the broader market, which includes 12,000 generic medications that have reduced drug costs by billions of dollars.
Alex Nixon is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7928 or anixon@tribweb.com.
