Today, at the Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA) Annual Meeting, Chip Davis, the CEO of the “former” GPhA announced the rebranding of the association to its new name, the Association for Accessible Medicines (aam).  The change is designed to further the work of the industry group to provide more affordable medicines in both the generic and biosimilars space.

Chip announced the new name after a heartwarming story about a New York mom and her family and how the savings from generic medicines had changed her and her family’s life.   This is a message that we all have seen in our careers ever since the passage of Hatch-Waxman., Patients now don’t have to decide between purchasing their medication or buying their food, paying their heating bill or monthly mortgage or rent payments.    The reduction in costs associated with the introduction of generic products or biosimilars has been estimated to result in saving of a billion dollars every week.  Remember that the government is one of the biggest purchasers of medicines so they also benefit from these savings.

As we all move forward, the aam will be the new moniker for savings and accessibility but the hard work will be the same.