Generic expenditure and consumption
Although generics are duplicates of branded drugs, Italian citizens spent over one billion euros on brand (off-patent) drugs instead of the generic equivalent. Nevertheless, over the last few years, the share of net expenditure on generic drugs has increased, especially in the northern regions where this share reached 37.7 percent. Among the so-called class A generic drugs, for which the cost is covered by the Italian National Healthcare Service, pantoprazole was the most consumed active ingredient. When considering the class C generic drugs, for which the cost rests entirely on private citizens, lorazepam was the most consumed active ingredient.Biosimilar drugs
Unlike generics, biosimilars are drugs that are similar in terms of quality, effectiveness, and safety to the biological drug in consideration, and they are not subject to patent coverage. In other words, biosimilars are not direct substitutes like generics are. In Italy, the share of the consumption of biosimilar products increased steeply in the last few years, from 13 percent in 2016 to 43 percent in 2021. Indeed, in 2021, around 49 million units of biosimilar drugs were consumed. Aosta Valley and Piedmont are the Italian regions with the highest share of biosimilars consumed over all biosimilars molecules available on the market, with more than 70 percent of the population using biosimilars.
