Study finds statin costs 400% higher in US compared with U.K.

In the United States, the cost paid for statins in people aged younger than 65 years who have private insurance is approximately 400% higher than comparable costs paid by the government in the United Kingdom.

These findings, from the Boston University School of Medicine Boston Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program, are the first results of a comprehensive comparison of prescription drug costs between the United States and United Kingdom.

For this study, researchers analyzed two large electronic medical databases in the United States and United Kingdom. Costs were derived from private health insurance claims in the United States, while costs were originated from a general practice research database in the United Kingdom, according to information in a press release.

The results are based on a 2005 sample of 280,000 people aged 55 to 65 years living in the United States and the United Kingdom. Statins were prescribed to approximately 33% of people in the United States and 24% in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the estimated annual cost of statins ranged from $1,428 for simvastatin (generic unavailable at the time) to $313 for lovastatin (generic available). In the United Kingdom, the estimated annual cost varied from $509 for atorvastatin (generic unavailable at the time) to $164 for simvastatin (generic available). The estimated cost per pill was at least twice as high for each statin prescribed in both countries.

When the researchers combined the annual cost for each statin user with the number of users, the total estimated cost for statin users was $64.9 million for people covered by private insurance companies in the United States vs. $15.7 million for people covered by the government in the United Kingdom.

“In addition to differences in overall statin use and per unit costs, another significant factor contributing to the disparity of costs appears to be the availability and utilization of generics,” Hershel Jick, MD, Director Emeritus of Boston University School of Medicine’s Collaborative Drug Surveillance Program, said in a press release.

Analyzing the 2005 sample, six statins were prescribed to the study population in the United States: atorvastatin (59%; Lipitor, Pfizer; now available as generic); simvastatin (18%; Zocor, Merck); pravastatin (11%; Pravachol, Teva Pharmaceuticals); lovastatin (5%); rovastatin (5%; Crestor, AstraZeneca); and fluvastatin (3%; Lescol, Novartis). Five statins were prescribed in the United Kingdom: simvastatin (46%); atorvastatin (44%); rosuvastatin (7%); pravastatin (2%); and fluvastatin (1%).

“Only generic lovastatin, which was used by just 5% of statin users, was available in the United States in 2005. In contrast, two drugs, simvastatin and pravastatin, prescribed to 48% of statin users, were available as generics in the United Kingdom,” the researchers wrote.

Simvastatin was approved in the United States for sale as a generic in June 2006, according to information in the article. Within the following 6 months, more than 60% of users switched from the brand-name statin to the generic formulation, leading to an estimated cost reduction of more than 50%, results showed.

For more information:

Jick H. Pharmacotherapy. 2012;32:1-6.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.

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