OBJECTIVES:  Medication access due to lack of affordability remains an issue in many Latin American countries. “The Generic Law” enacted in Argentina in 2002 mandated that all prescribers write prescriptions with the active ingredient (International Nonproprietary Name, INN) instead of brand names. This study determined the effects of this policy on drug pricing in Argentina by comparing price and utilization trends of brand and generic drugs pre- and post-policy implementation. METHODS:  Analyses included IMS data of annual WHO essential drug prices in Argentina from 1995-2010 and exclude those drugs with fewer than 4 years of price data. We compared generic and brand average annual price trends before and after policy implementation for 32 essential drugs, accounting for inflation resulting from an economic crisis in the year before the policy took effect. RESULTS:  While actual price still increased, there was a decreased rate of change immediately after the policy change in both generic and brands of 22 drugs. Ten drugs did not exhibit the expected decrease in price trend; mainly antibiotics or drugs with a market competition of less than 10 or greater than 30 generic products. Available utilization data showed demand decreased as price rose, depending on market competition. CONCLUSIONS:  In the years following implementation of The Generic Law, the rate of price change decreased for both brand and generic drugs. This research provides evidence to support the effectiveness of the generic policy in Argentina in controlling out-of-pocket expenditure increases for medication. However, since this policy was enacted under specific market conditions, additional research must be conducted in other countries with a generic policy to confirm the observed outcomes.