CBO Concludes “Certain Subpopulations” Require Access to Specific Medications

According to a report from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), even among drugs approved to treat the same condition, some drugs in a class may be more effective than others for different patients. In many therapeutic classes, substitution between a brand name drug and a chemically different generic drug is not medically appropriate, particularly when the generic “substitute” is not the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved generic equivalent of the specific brand medicine originally prescribed by the physician. The CBO concluded that “even among drugs approved to treat the same condition, important differences can exist. Some drugs in a class may be more effective than others, at least for some members of the population. Certain subpopulations—for example, people with liver or kidney disease—may need a specific brand-name drug in a class. In addition, some drugs in a class may have harmful side effects for different patients. […] Finally, physicians’ clinical experience with their patients may lead them to conclude that certain patients respond better to a particular drug from a given class.” Click below to view the report.

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