The study into ‘Comparative Satisfaction’ measured how satisfied people were with a selection of bestselling brand-name drugs compared to similar generics that cost a fraction of the price.

Four of the bestselling drugs between April 2013 and March 2014 were chosen. The drugs included in the study were Abilify (aripiprazole), Nexium (esomeprazole), Crestor (rosuvastatin), and Cymbalta (duloxetine). Otsuka Pharmaceutical’s Abilify, which is used to treat schizophrenia, had 2013 sales of US$6.9 billion. AstraZeneca’s acid reflux drug Nexium had 2013 sales of US$6.3 billion, while its cholesterol drug Crestor had 2013 sales of US$5.5 billion. Finally, Eli Lilly’s Cymbalta, which is used to treat depression, had 2013 sales of US$4.1 billion.

Iodine then chose four generics used to treat the same conditions: quetiapine, omeprazole, atorvastatin, and venlafaxine. Patients were then asked to grade the drugs as ‘worth it’, ‘not sure’ or ‘not worth it’.

The results showed very similar results for the four brand-name drugs compared to the generics used to treat the same conditions. A total of 61% of patients thought that their brand-name drug was ‘worth it’, compared to 64.2% of patients taking the generics, with the breakdown per treatment following a similar pattern.

This showed that patients are just as satisfied with their brand-name drugs as with their generics.