Generic Medicines and Present day India

INTRODUCTION

In a developing country like India, affordable and genuine healthcare has always been one of the major challenges for the population in general and the economically weaker sections at large. 

The Government at all levels have always tried to counter the problems in their own way while the civil societies and the compassionate citizens have put in their contributions as and when situations permitted.

What are generic medicines and how are they regulated?

Drugs manufactured in India, irrespective of whether they are generic or branded, are required to comply with the same standards as prescribed in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules, 1945 made there under for their quality.

There is no statutory definition of generic or branded medicines as the Drugs & Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules, 1945 have remained silent on the same. The prevalent understanding refers to generic medicines as those which contain same amount of same active ingredient(s) in same dosage form and are intended to be administered by the same route of administration as that of a corresponding branded medicine.

The price of an unbranded generic version of a medicine is generally much lower than the price of a corresponding branded medicine mainly because in case of generic version, the pharmaceutical company does not have to spend money on promotion of its brand.

BENEFITS

Following are the few benefits that can easily be accrued through more and more use of generic medicines. In a low income country like India the following benefits
Continuation of Medications:
For some patients, the high costs often associated with prescription drugs can make it hard to comply with a doctor’s directives, especially those chronic illnesses which require continuous medications. Generic drugs can be an excellent affordable alternative.
No compromise on efficacy:
Generic drugs can be just as effective as their brand-name alternatives.
Easily available:
Not only can patients save serious money with Generic drugs but also these drugs equivalents can be easily found nowadays.
The poor gets the most:
It can immensely benefit the lower strata of the society who are unable to afford the costly branded medicines for treating their ailments. Besides generic version of health drugs can be a very powerful weapon to counter undernourishment and lack of nutrients in the poor people-especially pregnant mothers and children.
The Indian Economy prospers:
Many of the branded medicines are manufactured by foreign companies and most research and development also originates in the western countries and marketed in India and elsewhere. This leads to a huge drainage of money in the form of purchase of medicines and intellectual property rights. It is evident that buying more generic drugs will decrease leakage of money from the Indian economy in general. 
Exports and soft diplomacy:
Not only in India, but throughout the world Indian generic medicines are getting a boost. Whether it be the poor countries in central Africa or the rich nations in the European Union and North America, the Indian generic medicines have penetrated the markets with a sustainable force.  The boost provided to its use and manufacture can help improve the export scenario and help us both in earning foreign currency as well as take positive strides in the area of soft diplomacy.

SCHEMES BY GOI

‘Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana’ is a campaign launched by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Govt. Of India, to provide quality medicines at affordable prices to the masses through special kendra’s known as Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Kendra.

Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) is the implementing agency of PMBJP. BPPI (Bureau of Pharma Public Sector Undertakings of India) has been established under the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Govt. of India, with the support of all the CPSUs.

Salient features of the scheme:

1. Ensure access to quality medicines.
2. Extend coverage of quality generic medicines so as to reduce the out of pocket expenditure on medicines and thereby redefine the unit cost of treatment per person.
3. Create awareness about generic medicines through education and publicity so that quality is not synonymous with only high price.
4. A public programme involving Government, PSUs, Private Sector, NGO, Societies, Co-operative Bodies and other Institutions.
5. Create demand for generic medicines by improving access to better healthcare through low treatment cost and easy availability wherever needed in all therapeutic categories.

More details on the scheme can be found in the following link:http://janaushadhi.gov.in/pmjy.aspx.

People are requested to garner the benefits of the scheme and also to popularize generic medicines among the people around so as to derive the maximum benefits for the Indian population. Please visit the site:http://janaushadhi.gov.in/index.aspx for more details and get involved in the movement to make Indian healthcare industry more self-dependent and affordable. If anyone has anything against the scheme or any suggestions for improvement I would request the person to please put up her/his arguments here. We may even refine and put up the same to the appropriate authority.

Any suggestions or queries regarding the article above are highly appreciated. Also please subscribe and let me know the topics on which you would like me to write articles on through which we can be beneficial to the society and people around us.

This article is a special presentation from the author for the Janaushadhi week: March 1st - March 7^th, 2020.The author is neither supporting or opposing any idealogy but creating awareness about the schemes that in general are apparently  beneficial for the public and the nation at large.