Amid a public backlash about the rising cost of many medications, the Generic Pharmaceutical Association has released a new report finding that Americans are realizing increased savings as a result of generic drugs.

The report, released Wednesday, concluded that consumers' annual savings from generic prescription drugs increased 328 percent from 2005 to 2016. That means Americans saved $1.46 trillion in drug costs during the 10-year period studied, according to the authors.

"Generic drugs are the foundation of any successful effort to lower health spending and increase patient access to affordable medicine," GPhA CEO Chip Davis said. "A diverse group of experts—the federal government, pharmacy benefit managers, consumer groups and others—agree that generic drugs drive system savings, not costs."

The pharmaceutical industry is still reeling from two high-profile controversies that have made rising drug costs a political hot potato. The first was the decision by Turing Pharmaceuticals last year to raise a potentially life-saving medication from $13.50 to $750 a tablet. More recently, drug manufacturer Mylan has been criticized for increasing the cost of EpiPens by more than 500 percent.

Mylan CEO Heather Bresch is the current chair of GPhA's board of directors.

The report was compiled by the QuintilesIMS Institute, a marketing firm, on behalf of GPhA. Among their findings the authors said that generic drugs account for 89 percent of prescriptions in the U.S. but only 27 percent of drug costs. They also said generic drugs accounted for $227 billion in savings in 2015 alone. http://bit.ly/2eVjSUL

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