GENERIC DRUGS, THE MEDICAL BARGAIN OF THE CENTURY

Brand-name pharmaceutical companies invest in innovation in order to develop new medicines. To protect their new medicine for about 20 years, they register a patent. When this patent expires, a generic drug, a copy of the brand-name, is produced by another pharmaceutical company which does not spend money for innovation. That is the reason why they are less expensive than the brand-name drugs. Sometimes, people get concerned because of the low price. They wonder if they have the expected effects and if they take much longer to work. It is true that sometimes generic versions do not have the same colour, flavour or shape than the brand-name drugs, but the medicinal effects are exactly the same.

A bargain everywhere in the world

By choosing generic drugs for their citizens, industrial countries reduce the healthcare cost considerably. BRICS countries seem to be attracted as well by generic drugs.

The United States decided to include more generic drugs through their healthcare reform bill. Nowadays 50% of the medicines sold are generic. Generally speaking, a brand-name medicine is found at four dollars whereas the generic one is only eighty cents. Japan doubled its consumption of generic drugs consumption. In Germany, one medicine in three is generic and in France one in four is generic. The countries that allow this huge consumption of generic drugs, have well understood it is a benefit for the healthcare system. This spreading of generic drugs in the whole world should bring the generic drugs market to $135 billion within three years.

Signs of savings in France

In France, 80% of the substitutable brand-names medicines are today replaced with generic ones which have to be 30% less expensive.

The French Social Security system spending is going down. The national objective is to issue 85% of generic drugs for pharmacies. Doctors and pharmacists must use a “prescription control”. A pharmacist was fined because she did not issue enough low cost generic drugs to her patients. On the other hand, if patients want to be paid back by the Social Security system, they have to accept to take generic drugs instead of brand-names, except if the doctor insists. This process means high savings for the French Social Security system.

Big loss for pharmaceutical companies of brand-names

Generic drugs represent a threat for the pharmaceutical companies that produce brand-name drugs. The Mopral case is very representative. Sales of this anti-ulcerous fell of 80% after the patent expired in 2004. Companies of brand-names use two strategies to avoid this situation: some of them have recourse to the law in order to stop the aimed generic drug commercialization for a period. But since they know they will not be able to fight permanently, they create themselves their generic drugs.

Eloïse M.