This trend, touted by the pharmaceutical companies as an antidote to rising costs, is seen by some healthcare professionals as a cause of an unusual number of drug shortages beginning in late 2000. Certainly, it's led to fewer companies making paricular drugs and supplying the raw materials for them. A number of healthcare workers also charge that in their drive for profits, the huge drug companies are stopping production of older and less profitable drugs in favor of focusing on newer, more profitable ones. In the first two months of 2000, the two largest pharmaceutical deals ever were announced. Their size is expected to lead to still other combinations.
Consolidation also continues on a somewhat smaller scale.
In light of rocketing drug prices, the Federal Trade Commission has been watching closely in the past several years for possible antitrust violations on the part of drug manufacturers. The rate of major drug introductions in the past decade has been high, but analysts see the pace slowing significantly in the next several years. At the same time, Yaffe sees a surge in expiring patents. That means that makers of generics can sell their own, less costly versions of these popular medications. Generic drugs, which can cost 30 percent to 50 percent less than their branded counterparts, have become a significant weapon in the fight against rising drug costs.