The use of generic medicines must be promoted for common good
Efforts should be made to make the quality reports of the generic medicines public to build confidence about them in the minds of general public and other stakeholders when whole world is after generics then why not India.
BIG FISH eats small fish, says an old proverb. This holds true in case of generic medicines and drugs which despite being cheaper and affordable are not getting its due place in the market due to misinformation campaign launched by the multinational pharmaceutical companies against their use dubbing them as sub- standard and less effective. Haryana government has issued directions to its doctors for prescribing generic drugs and medicines to the patients at government run hospitals and B.D. Sharma University of Health Sciences, Rohtak. Victim is poor patient who has to purchase costly branded medicines. One third of global population lacks access to needed medicines and out of this fifty percent is from poor African and Asian nations. India known for producing lower cost generic drugs and medicines world wide but faces challenges of access to affordable quality medicines for its own. Ironically generic medicines which are of as good quality as branded one are being used worldwide. As on today, more than 65 percent of US prescriptions are dispensed by generic medicine. Even European are also following the trend but unfortunately in India where large number of people are poor they have to buy branded medicines. G.L. Singal, Assistant State drugs controller, Haryana told this scribe that misconceptions about lower quality and efficacy of generic drugs needed to be removed from the minds of doctors, patients and other healthcare providers, adding that they also qualifies the same tests as are cleared by the branded medicines. He quoted numerous studies performed globally on generic medicines and their quality parameters. He stressed the need to promote the generic medicines being affordable and equivalent counterpart of the branded medicines. There is misinformation campaign against the generic drugs that they are cheaper because of low quality and hence they are less effective. When a doctor whom we still respect as next to the ‘God ‘ prescribes branded medicines to the patients and ask them to purchase the same , the poor and innocent patient has no option but for obeying the instructions. The generic medicines and drugs are cheaper, affordable and are as useful as branded medicines. The biggest advantage of generic medicines is that they cannot be counterfeited because of their low price. They have same statutory pharmacopoeias standards and are subject to the mandatory quality tests as per the standards laid down under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 and Rules 1945 before their release in the market for purposed of its sale and distribution. The branded medicines available in India are also generic medicines prepared and sold under popular brand names by pharmaceutical companies which spent huge some of money on their promotion, besides providing profits to distributor/ whole-sellers/clearing and forwarding agents/retailers etc. Manufacturers earn huge profit from the sale of the branded medicines. These companies spend lot in keeping the prescribing doctors in good humor, who prescribe these costly medicines to the patients for petty ailments/ illness. They normally prescribe branded medicines worth rupees several hundreds whereas the purpose could be served by prescribing cheaper generic drugs in the interest of patient. The manufacturers get huge profits, whole-seller/retailer chemists gets good commission and the doctor prescribing the branded medicines also gets but to speak of costly gifts including air conditioners, refrigerators , color televisions etc. and free foreign sponsored trips and cash also. Medical Council of India has recently prohibited doctors from receiving any type of gifts from the pharmaceutical companies. But to speak of private doctors who are legally not bound to prescribe generic medicines but some of the doctors working in government run hospitals and health university Rohtak also promotes and prescribe costly branded medicines for ulterior motives without bothering for the poor patient who normally visit the public facilities because of financial constraints. The government of Haryana even took disciplinary actions against many government doctors who were found flouting the governmental instructions of prescribing generic medicines and promoting the medicines of some preferred companies. Sometimes back three government doctors of Bhiwani district were charge sheeted for promoting branded medicines violating the government's instructions of prescribing generic medicines. Action was also taken against one doctor of Health University; Rohtak The sufferer are poor helpless patients who cannot afford these costly branded medicines and remains without treatment at the mercy of ‘God’. Rajesh Khayalia, General Secretary of Haryana Civil Medical Services Association while welcoming the decision in the interest of poor patients said that although they are duty bound to carry out the directions adding that doctors should be allowed to use their discretion in exceptional cases when patient is not responding to generic medicines. Branded and Generic Game For a common man it is very difficult to understand the game of pharmaceutical companies which they are playing in the name of branded and generic medicines. Branded medicines are promoted by them through their field force i.e. the medical representatives who can be seen hovering around the doctors pleading them for prescribing their new products. Poor patients suffer because of this propaganda of branded medicines and everybody right from the manufacturers, chemists and doctors are beneficiaries. In India, even some leading pharmaceutical companies manufacture generic/ branded generic medicines in addition to their leading branded product containing same active ingredients and having same therapeutic effect. The branded generic medicines are not promoted by these pharmaceutical giants but they are promoted through retailers who retain the maximum profit out of their sales, after the manufacturer. These branded generic or generic medicines are offered by their manufacturers to the retailers at very low prices ( usually at one forth to one tenth of their MRP) but the patient is not benefited by such lower prices offered to the retailers as he receive them at their printed MRP which is usually similar to that of branded medicines. The key promoters for such branded generic medicines which are sold under a less popular brand name is the retailer who goes to the factory gate and picks the drugs and promote their sales. These are ‘generic’ as far as trade is concern but branded’ as far as consumer is concerned. High profit margin is retained by the retailers. for example one popular pharmaceutical company sells one strip of ten branded tablets meant for controlling bacterial infections for Rs. 80.00 and the same company produces and sells its generic equivalent version with same chemical composition and same mandatory quality standards with almost same printed MRP (maximum retails price) at about one forth price i.e. Rs.20.00 but both these versions are sold to patient at their printed MRP which is Rs. 80.00 in both cases. Similarly - cetrizine tablets 10 mg –a common OTC anti allergy medicine manufactured and sold under a particular brand name by a reputed Indian pharmaceutical company is sold at about Rs35.00 per 1x10 tablets (as per its printed MRP) while the same pharmaceutical company sells the same formulation containing 10 mg cetrizins per tablet at about Rs 2.00 per 1x10 tablet pack to the retailer, who is free to charge the patient up to its printed MRP (which is about Rs30.00), speaking volumes about the malpractices of pharma industry. Retailers directly purchase these from the company at one fourth price of the MRP companies takes advantage of these legal lacuna which allows to print as much as MRP on generic drugs. The governments of India has recently launched a newer concept of providing generic medicines at affordable prices to the patients by opening numbers of 24X7 Jan Aushadhi Drugs Stores wherein medicines with lower printed MRP are available for the public. So far only 50 such stores have been opened in the country with 20 such stores in Punjab alone. In Haryana which is rich in data of per capita income due to Gurgaon revenue but lacks medical facilities at government level thirty such stores at Panchkula, Gurgaon and Faridabad towns have been opened. There is immediate necessity of opening such stores throughout especially in the poor states where medicines are considered “out of reach to common man”. The functioning of these stores also needs to be streamlined with a view to make available all the essential medicines at these outlets and public awareness to educate them regarding the quality and efficacy of these generic medicines. Even the doctors, pharmacists and other healthcare providers needs to be sensitized regarding the benefits of the quality generic medicines to protect the mankind. A spokesman of union Health Ministry told this scribe that shortly such stores will be opened in several states of the Country as Government which stands for Aam Admi, is committed to provide affordable medicines to the people of the country.
 | Previous Post |
Login
 Login through Social ID
|
Not finding what you are looking for? Search here.
