GENERIC MEDICINE - LIFE SAVER OF POOR

Do you know each family in India on an average spends more than RS.50,000- RS.60,000 per year on healthcare expenditure? Most part of the money is spent on branded drugs and medicines which are not affordable by many low and middle income families. They are getting succumbed to the diseases because of their poor financial condition. But 'GENERIC MEDICINES' offer a great solution to this problem. Come let us know more about generic drugs.

>>What is Generic medicine?

Generic medicines are exact copies of branded drugs or patented drugs. They have same chemical formula, active ingredient, dosage, uses, effects etc. as the original branded drug. But they are available for very low price compared to branded drugs with same efficiency. For example, if you buy a branded drug for Rs.100, you can get same drug in generic for just Rs.10-Rs.25. 

>>Why generics are very cheap?

To answer this question, we need to know how branded drugs are manufactured.

Q. How branded drugs are manufactured?

A. For suppose I own a drug pharmaceutical manufacturing company namely "STAY AWAKE LABORATORIES". My company made a drug which can treat cancer and we are ready to manufacture it. But it took us almost 10 to 15 years of hard work to develop the drug. 

My company invested some millions of Rupees in the process which includes Research & Development, thought process, human trails of the drug. Even after completion we need to advertise it which also could cost crores of Rupees.

As I am the creator of the drug, government gives me patent which does not allow any other companies to manufacture any drug with same formula. But this patent lasts for limited period of time say 10 years. 

With in this time period, my company has total authority over the drug and I can sell the drug for price of my wish, which gives me profits. This drug become famous by name of my company and hence called branded drug.

>>What happens after 10 years?

After 10 years any other manufacturing company can manufacture the  same drug with my formula by acquiring permission from Department of Pharmaceuticals, Govt. of India.

 These companies doesn't need any investments in Research & Development, human trails etc. They can directly go for manufacturing process. They just sell their drugs for low cost which gives them profits and covers manufacturing cost i.e, they skip the cost of research, advertisement etc.

>>First Generic drug of India.

American company Bayer created a drug called "NEXAVAR"  which is an anti-cancer agent.  In India it used to cost around Rs.2.8 lakhs per month. This is affordable only by  2% of cancer patients in India. In 2012 Indian company Cipla made a generic version of this drug which costs around Rs.8,800 per month which is very much affordable.

>>Lack of Awareness in India.

 Have you ever came back from medical shop with empty hands because the medicine which you need is with different name and cheaper price. There is misconception that a medicine with cheaper price is of low quality and may not work well and may also have side effects. This is not true. The generics have same efficiency of branded drugs.

>>Government's step

Department of Pharmaceuticals established special medical shops under "Prandhan Manthri Bhartiya Jan Aushadi Pari Yojana" to provide medicines at cheaper prices and make medicines available for all classes of the society.

>>Conclusion

Calculate your monthly expenses on branded medicines and switch to generics next month. I'm sure you will be surprised to difference.

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