This observational study investigates the private sector, retail pharmaceutical market of 19 low and middle income countries (LMICs) in Latin America, Asia and the Middle East/South Africa analyzing the relationships between volume market share of generic and originator medicines over a time series from 2001 to 2011. Over 5000 individual pharmaceutical substances were divided into generic (unbr...

Generic drugs have a key role to play in the efficient allocation of financial resources for pharmaceutical medicines. Policies implemented in the countries with a high rate of generic drug use, such as Canada, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States, are reviewed, with consideration of the market structures that facilitate strong competition. Savings in the...

In this context, Singal et al.[6] described an interesting study. These authors compared branded and nominally branded generic versions of the same drug manufactured and formulated by the same company [see the next section and Box 2 for definitions of terms]. The drugs selected were cetirizine, fluoxetine, ciprofloxacin, lansoprazole, and alprazolam. At the retailer level, the mark-up for brand...

The study was carried out to evaluate community pharmacists' and drug retailers' knowledge and perceptions about generic medicines. A cross-sectional descriptive study, with a questionnaire, was conducted to survey community pharmacists and drug retailers working in 39 randomly selected private pharmacies from two towns of Tamil Nadu, India. Among 66 respondents (pharmacists and drug retailers)...

This survey examined current patient awareness and understanding of generic substitution. We surveyed 188 renal patients using 36 multiple-choice questions in 2 hospitals in the United Arab Emirates. We found that 70% of patients were aware of the availability of generic medicines, 60% understood the terms "generic" and "branded" in relation to medicines and 64% were conscious of generic substi...

OBJECTIVE To explore the consumers' perceptions and knowledge towards issues surrounding generic medicines utilization in Penang, Malaysia. METHODS A cross sectional survey was conducted with consumers who attended the annual University open day. Using convenience sampling, survey forms were distributed to the respective consumers via the help of a group of trained 1st year pharmacy students....

OBJECTIVE To investigate the views of pharmacists in North-Central Nigeria on generic medicines and generic substitution practices. SUBJECTS AND METHOD A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 4 cities in North-Central Nigeria from April to June 2012 among 330 pharmacists in hospital and community pharmacy settings, recruited through a convenience sampling strategy. Data were collected using...

Promoting generic medicines to increase access to essential medicines is relevant to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDGs) and post 2015 goals. There are several barriers to encouraging wider use of generic medicines in health systems, e.g. the widely-held perception that low price equals low quality and misalignment of provider and consumer incentives. Overcoming the complex barriers ...