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Generic Medicine Group Gets Less Generic With Revamp

The Association for Accessible Medicines—known until recently as the Generic Pharmaceutical Association—is launching its rebrand with a campaign that highlights the cost savings and value that come with using generic and biosimilar prescription drugs.

In an era when much of the attention around prescription drugs has been around their high prices, it’s understandable why generics would take center stage.

And that’s what the group that represents the manufacturers of such drugs is trying for—but with slightly less focus on the word “generic.”

On Tuesday, the Generic Pharmaceutical Association announced it was rebranding to the Association for Accessible Medicines, with the new name reflecting the benefit of the drugs rather than their origin, according to AAM President and CEO Chip Davis.

“The association’s new identity will improve recognition that the generic and biosimilar medicines industry is one of the nation’s great healthcare success stories, and that competition from generics and biosimilars lowers the cost of medicine,” Davis said in a news release. “Our medicines drive savings, not costs, and we stand ready to work with the president, Congress, patient groups, and others to create real and lasting health cost solutions.”

Along with a new website, AAM is launching a new campaign that’s tied to the rebranding, “Keeping Medicines in Reach.” The campaign, which will have TV and digital ad components, highlights the fact that generics are the most popular variety of drug, representing nearly 90 percent of all prescriptions filled in the U.S. every year. They’re seen as effective ways of minimizing the cost of treatment—despite their broad use, they represent just 27 percent of total drug costs. As generics tend to cost a fifth of the price of name-brand drugs, it creates an opportunity for the group to highlight how their members’ offerings serve an important purpose.

The effort was launched during the group’s annual meeting. New AAM Board Chair Jeff Watson, the president of Global Generics at Apotex, Inc., said that the campaign highlights a need to draw attention to the important role that generics have—both with the public and with policy stakeholders.

“Our evolution to the Association for Accessible Medicines reflects an industrywide recognition that it is time to amplify the critical cost savings and access that generics and biosimilars make possible,” Watson said in the news release.

(iStock/Thinkstock)

Ernie Smith

By Ernie Smith

Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. MORE

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