Do users of risperidone who switch brands because of generic reference pricing fare better or worse than non-switchers? A New Zealand natural experiment.

This study evaluated patient health outcomes and any impact on healthcare costs consequent to the implementation of generic reference-pricing of risperidone in New Zealand using national datasets. Reference pricing risperidone reduced the price of the originator brand by 50 % as well as overall expenditure on risperidone tablets. Half of all patients made a single switch to generic risperidone, with the remainder making multiple switches between brands. 1.5 % made a switch-back to the originator brand. No difference was found in use of healthcare services between switchers and non-switchers of the originator brand or versus the comparator group. This refutes the available literature on brand-to-generic and generic-to-generic switching.