OBJECTIVES: To provide real-world evidence of treatment persistence and economic and patient outcomes of generic versus brand-name drugs routinely used to treat high cholesterol levels in Spain.

METHODS: Real-world electronic medical records (EMR) abstracted from a database for 16 primary healthcare centers in Spain were analyzed. Brand-name and generic atorvastatin and simvastatin data from subjects’ who started treatment for high levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2012 were used. Outcomes included treatment persistence (time to discontinuation), medication possession ratio, healthcare and non-healthcare resource utilization, and corresponding costs. Patients reaching the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol goal, incidence of any major cardiovascular event and all-cause mortality were assessed during a 5-year follow-up period.

RESULTS: A total of 13,244 EMRs of patients aged > CONCLUSIONS: Meaningful and significantly lower treatment adherence was observed in patients with high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol who first started therapy with generic in comparison to brand-name statins in routine medical practice in Spain. Consequently, patients receiving generic statins showed poorer outcomes in terms of incidence of major cardiovascular events or all-cause mortality at a higher cost to payers.