U.S. Generic & Biosimilar Medicines Save $496B In Just 1 Year

89% of all prescriptions filled while only 12% of the spending, affordable medicines face severe sustainability challenges in the U.S.

The Association for Accessible Medicines and the Biosimilars Council today released the 2026 U.S. Generic & Biosimilar Medicines Savings Report – Forward for America. AAM’s annual savings report highlights that generic and biosimilar medicines created $496B in savings in 2025 for patients and the overall healthcare system. Generics and biosimilars have saved over $3.6 trillion in the last decade.

“In only ten years, the generics and biosimilars industry saved U.S. patients and taxpayers a combined $3.6 trillion and there’s no denying our industry is one of the greatest success stories in healthcare,” said John Murphy III, President and CEO of AAM. “But right now, the very forces that make generics and biosimilars so affordable are destabilizing the market. Without intervention, the U.S. is at risk for supply chain disruptions, drug shortages, or worse, U.S. market exit. To move generics forward for America, we must adopt a generics-and-biosimilars-first policy framework. Policymakers must streamline FDA processes, curb patent abuse, stop pharmacy benefit managers and Medicare policies from favoring higher-priced brands, and roll back harmful federal policies such as Inflation Reduction Act price controls that impede generic and biosimilar competition.”

In 2025, generic and biosimilar medicines generics made up nearly 90 percent of all prescriptions filled in the U.S. but are only 12 percent of overall drug spending. Brand medicines were 485 million prescriptions filled at a cost of $804B. Generic prescriptions filled were 4 billion prescriptions filled at a cost of $106B.

“Biosimilar medicines have contributed to more than 3.8 billion days of safe, effective, and more affordable therapy for patients,” said Alex Keeton, Executive Director, Biosimilars Council and Senior Vice President of Policy. “Despite recent wins in overall savings, streamlining, and interchangeability, the U.S. biosimilars industry continues to face challenges such as IRA price negotiation, dysfunctional pricing dynamics, PBM distortions, and more patent challenges than in other countries. Biosimilars represent one of the most powerful tools we have to expand access, strengthen healthcare resilience, and unlock meaningful savings. By building on recent regulatory progress and addressing persistent barriers to market access and adoption, we can unleash the next generation of biosimilars competition and deliver even greater value for patients.”

Additional highlights from the 2026 U.S. Generic & Biosimilar Medicines Savings Report:

• Total Generic and Biosimilar Savings for 2025: $496B
• Total Generic and Biosimilar Savings for Past 10 years: more than $3.6 trillion
• Total Generic and Biosimilar Savings in Medicare for 2025: $166B, $3,011 per beneficiary
• Generics and biosimilars represent 89% of prescriptions filled, but only 12% of prescription drug spending
• Generics and biosimilars represent only 1.1% of all healthcare spending
• Biosimilars have generated $81.6B in savings since 2015, and have been used in almost 3.8 billion days of patient therapy with no unique clinical challenges
• Biosimilars have expanded patient access to care by nearly 571 million days of therapy

The 2026 U.S. Generic & Biosimilar Medicines Savings Report was developed in partnership with the IQVIA Institute, continuing over 15 years of collaboration to quantify the financial and therapeutic impacts of generic and biosimilar alternatives on America’s patients and the U.S. healthcare system.

About The Biosimilars Council
The Biosimilars Council, a division of the Association for Accessible Medicines, works to ensure a positive environment for patient access to biosimilar medicines. The Biosimilars Council is the leading source for information about the safety and efficacy of more affordable alternatives to costly brand biologic medicines. Areas of focus include public and health expert education, government affairs, legal affairs, and regulatory policy. For more information, visit biosimilarscouncil.org.