OBJECTIVE To compare and evaluate the price and quality of "branded" and branded-generic equivalents of some commonly used medicines manufactured by the same pharmaceutical company in India. MATERIALS AND METHODS FIVE COMMONLY USED MEDICINES: alprazolam, cetirizine, ciprofloxacin, fluoxetine, and lansoprazole manufactured in branded and branded-generic versions by the same company were select...

BACKGROUND Access to low-cost essential generic medicines is a critical health policy goal in low-and-middle income countries (LMICs). Guatemala is an LMIC where there is both limited availability and affordability of these medications. However, attitudes of physicians and pharmacy staff regarding low-cost generics, especially generics for non-communicable diseases (NCDs), have not been fully e...

An editorial in The Lancet Oncology stated “It could be argued that since access to—and resources for—cancer treatment are so limited in developing countries, the answer lies in a greater reliance on generic drugs.” We agree, but the real question is how best can such generic drug production be stimulated? India provides one model to answer this question. India encouraged generic production fi ...

BACKGROUND Access to medicines is a universal right. Low availability and low affordability of medicines are issues that deny this right to a significant proportion of the world population. The objective of this study was to determine the availability, price and affordability of essential medicines prescribed to treat non communicable diseases in Sri Lanka. METHODS Methodology was based on th...

BACKGROUND Generic substitution in several countries has become a common practice. Besides, it is considered as a major cost minimizing strategy meant to contain pharmaceutical expenditure without compromising healthcare quality. However, the safety and quality issues of generic products are of top concerns of general practitioners and health work professionals. This study aimed to investigate ...

The Australian generic medicine substitution landscape has changed over recent years. The latest changes include the introduction of incentive payments by the government to community pharmacists to dispense generic medicines instead of more expensive brand equivalents. Generic dispensing imposes additional time constraints on pharmacists in terms of patient counselling requirements. Substitutio...

BACKGROUND Following the enactment of legislation in June 2013, generic substitution and reference pricing of medicines has been introduced, for the first time, in Ireland. This novel study is the first assessment of the perceptions of community pharmacists in Ireland towards generic medicines completed in the period immediately prior to the introduction of generic substitution and reference pr...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to investigate Jordanian physicians' perception and attitudes toward generic medicines and generic substitution. It also aimed to examine factors that affect physicians' pattern of prescribing, and to evaluate their opinion regarding future introduction of Electronic Prescribing (EP) in Jordan. METHODS A cross-sectional descriptive study involving Jordania...