1.   The cheaper drugs are just as effective in treating arthritis.

2.   They encourage doctors to prescribe cheaper generic drugs instead of more expensive brand names.

3.   American budget officials could also decide to buy cheaper generic drugs.

4.   And that means some patients who belong to managed care plans can pick up the drug much cheaper than its market price.

5.   And somebody would make a cheaper drug.

6.   As a result, consumers pay hundreds of millions of dollars more than they would if the cheaper drug were available.

7.   As a result, consumers pay hundreds of millions of dollars more than they would if the cheaper drugs were available.

8.   Bowing to mounting public pressure, the pharmaceutical industry on Thursday dropped its legal effort to prevent South Africa from importing cheaper anti-AIDS drugs and other medicines.

9.   -- Ask your physician for a cheaper drug or generic.

10.   But officials in Geneva and elsewhere cautioned that cheaper drugs would not provide a quick fix for the epidemic.