Background Generic medicines provide an opportunity to obtain similar treatments at lower costs for patients and payers, while liberating budgets for financing new innovative medicines. The debate on generic medicines has been centered on affordability and cost-savings so far. Positive health impact of generic medicines has, however, been scarcely discussed. The aim of the study is to examine t...

Introduction Generic medicines are an important policy option to reduce out-of-pocket expenditure on medicines. However, negative perceptions of their quality affect utilisation and raise issues of confidence and trust in medicines and health services. The aim of the study was to test the quality of generic and branded medicines and explain negative perceptions towards generic medicines. Meth...

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...

Purpose: In an era of escalating healthcare costs and ageing population, there is a need for costeffective measures. This study was aimed to investigate the knowledge, perception and attitude of community pharmacists towards generic medicines. Methods: A qualitative methodology was adopted. Snowball sampling technique was used to identify eight community pharmacists. Semi-structured interviews ...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to explore Jordanian patients' perceptions toward generic medicines and to evaluate their opinions regarding generic substitution. METHOD A cross-sectional descriptive study involving Jordanian patients was undertaken, using a self-administrated anonymous questionnaire. The response rate was 80% (n=400/500). RESULTS The study showed that cost of medicines...

The government is planning to introduce free generic and essential medicines in public health facilities. Most people in India buy healthcare from the private sector, a compulsion that accounts for a high proportion of healthcare-related expenditure. To reduce the burden of healthcare costs, the government must improve availability and affordability of generic and essential medicines in the mar...

Substitution of branded medicines by cheaper generic medicines has been and is subject for debate in the Netherlands. One of the tasks of the Dutch Medicines Evaluation Board (CBG) is the evaluation of generic medicines. The way the CBG approves generics, as outlined in this paper, is based on assessment of the quality of the medicine and bioequivalence testing according to strict European guid...

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 Review the literature on the impact of policies designed to enhance uptake of generic medicines in low and middle income countries (LMICs). METHODS We searched for publications related to generic medicines policies (January 2000-March 2010) and did a bibliometric, descriptive analysis of the dataset in addition to an analysis of studies evaluating the impact of pro-generic policies....

BACKGROUND To benefit from cost-savings associated with generic medicine use; in June 2013, Ireland introduced generic substitution and reference pricing. The attitudes and behaviours of health care professionals may influence successful implementation of such changes. OBJECTIVES To assess perceptions of GPs in Ireland regarding generic medicines in the time leading up to the enactment of the...