Generic Medicines

Generic medicines are not substandard medicines.

1 who work for the industry-funded Hudson Institute, advocate the use of patented drugs, pointing to what they say are risks associated with generic drugs. They confuse generic drugs with old, substandard, ineffective, and counterfeit drugs. Generic does not mean old. The 1996 World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreements mandate all member countries to provide 20-year patent protection for medicin...

Clinical Studies – Generic Medicines

Clinical testing is not the only way to discover drug effects on people. That is the reason controlled clinical trials are the only legal basis for central regulatory agencies in each country, such as FDA, to conclude that a new drug has clinical effectiveness for a drug or biologic. Before clinical testing begins, researchers analyze the drug’s main physical and chemical properties in the labo...

Patients’ beliefs about generic medicines in Malaysia

BACKGROUND Acceptance of generic medicines by patients is an essential factor given that they are the end users of these medicines. In fact, adequate knowledge and positive perceptions are prerequisite to patients' acceptance and use of generic medicines. OBJECTIVE To assess the current belief and views of patients about generic medicines in Malaysia. METHOD This was a self-administered que...

Sustainable Provision of Generic Medicines in Europe

Pan-Canadian overpricing of medicines: a 6-country study of cost control for generic medicines

Reed F. Beall, MA, is a PhD candidate in the Institute of Population Health at the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario. Jason W. Nickerson, RRT, PhD, is a Clinical Investigator at the Bruyère Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario. Amir Attaran, DPhil, LLB, is Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in Law, Population Health and Global Development Policy at the University of Ottawa, Ottawa...