Pharma Latest News Regarding Generic Medicines – Pharma industry completely got shook when the news related to branded and generic medicines came out. Indian Government is deciding to change the scenario of the pharma companies and their ways to sell medicines. If this law came into practice, then rural population of the country would be benefited the most. Here, we will discuss on the most heated conversation of the pharma industries.

There is no difference between the generic and branded medicines except the extravagant prices branded medicines are sold at. This is a serious issue and should be made in practice for the welfare of the society. People will have an easy access to the medicine without paying extra pennies.

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What are generic medicines?

A generic medicine is basically the identical copy of the brand name drugs in terms of everything. Their dosage form, quality, strength, safety, route of administration etc. all are same. The only difference between generic and branded medicines is the price they are sold at. Generic drugs identical to the branded drugs are sold at much cheaper rates than the latter. Reason being branded drugs advertises well and they are known to the population and are trusted by millions.

Generic medicines are the products whose patents have been expired. They are either sold as a branded product or as an unbranded product. For example, Paracetamol is a generic medicine which is a pain reliever and crocin is one brand name for this generic medicine. Both are only differentiated on the price they are being sold at.

The heated debate between generic and branded medicines

A few days ago, Indian government made an announcement to make amendments in the medical industry. The government is intended to make a law to ensure that the doctors only prescribe generic medicines to the people. Now, this move undoubtedly will benefit the country’s population but will brutally affect the pharma industries. The investment on reaseach and development of new medicines would not be recovered if only generic medicines are sold in the market. Not only pharma companies would be affected but also the chemists or pharmacies that sell these medicines. Reason being, the profit margin would be reduced less.

Will this move made by the government work?

This is still a debatable topic in the country. On one hand, this move has been made by the Indian Government so that people can easily afford high quality medicines at low rates. On the other hand, pharma companies will lose all hopes to make new medicines as their efforts will not cost them the required profit. Below mentioned are some of the points that will help in deciding if this move will work or not.

Generic drugs share of the market which is 80 per cent at present (20 per cent is accounted for by branded and patented drugs), is expected to go up to 90 per cent in the next three years if this move will work.
One fear that holds back is that this problem might shift from pharma companies to the chemists. Reason being they will only sell the medicines that will provide them profit.
Pharma industry is obviously who is very enthused by the news. This can become a problem for the doctors to write prescription especially for combination medicines with different formulations.
While, most of the country’s population will benefit the most. They can afford to buy the medicines at cheap rates and get the same amount of benefit as the branded medicines.

Conclusion

The main goal of this change for the pharma industries is the affordable access to the medicines under the healthcare services. However, this has not impressed the pharma manufacturers at all. With the government’s push for this decision, the dream of universal healthcare might get receding. But overall, this is a good and practical step in favor of the country’s population.