Right Prescription

By Ramesh Akkineni

from an article in Financial Express

'The decision of the Prime Minister’s task force to discourage branded medicines has set the cat among the pigeons in the pharmaceutical industry.'

'The Indian pharma market is unique in that branded generics account for over 98% of the market and patented products and generic generics (sold on the molecule name only) less than 2%. This is primarily a consequence of the earlier process patent regime that promoted generics and within that, branded generics, rather than generic generics, as is common worldwide. Branded generics, however, are nowhere as cheap as ‘generic generics’. It is estimated that branding of generics increases the cost to the consumer by as much as 30-50%. The PM’s task force has, therefore, done well to propose that doctors must compulsorily write the generic name of the medicine in their prescriptions. After all, the whole idea of generics is to make medicines affordable to the common man.'

'Very often, doctors get a commission on the products they prescribe. Some even promote pharma companies of their own. Their prescriptions to ignorant patients often have branded generics, from which they themselves gain financially. The patient, if he knew the generic name, could have bought the same medicine at a much lower rate. It is time to curb this practice. The power to prescribe branded generics should be taken away from doctors. They should only prescribe generic generics or a patented product.'

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