Incremental improvements in ulcer/reflux disease drug therapies save hundreds of millions annually, in avoided hospital costs.

One of the great myths about pharmaceutical innovation is that new drugs that are incremental improvements on existing drug therapies, or so-called “me-too” drugs, contribute little to the advancement of the quality or cost-effectiveness of health care. The overwhelming evidence of the impacts of incremental improvements on existing drug therapies for the treatment of ulcers and reflux disease explodes the myth of “me-too” drugs. In Canada, in 1998 there was a reduction of nearly 250,000 hospital bed days for ulcers compared to 1988 and a reduction of nearly 42,000 surgical procedures for operations on the digestive system

In the early 1980’s a class of drugs known as H2 antagonists were widely used in the treatment of ulcers. The first products in this class of drugs have been very effective in improving the quality of life for patients and reducing hospitalizations and surgeries. However not all patients can benefit from the early H2 antagonists because of the risk of drug interactions with other medications. Other drugs within this same class were soon introduced with higher degrees of safety and efficacy thus enabling more patients to benefit from drug therapy. In the late 1980’s another class of drugs known as proton pump inhibitors was introduced and found to be even more effective in controlling stomach acid secretions. The impacts of improved drug therapies for ulcers and reflux disease are enormous, both in terms of the quality of life for patients and in terms of saving health resources.