Generic Medicines You must know them well

If you are a layperson, this is the way you probably see generic medicines: They are the exact same products in different packaging; and generics companies can sell such medications for a fraction of the cost of the originals because they don’t have to spend huge sums on R&D, drug development and marketing. You have been told that generics are just like their branded counterparts. Is that a fact? One of the most debated issues in healthcare today concerns the difference between brand name (also called branded, innovator and pioneered) drugs and their generic versions. No doubt, patients benefit from the massive cost savings of using generics. But does that come at a cost or is it all one and the same thing?

Associate Professor and Convenor, Consumer Club, Department of Commerce, Kamala

Nehru College, University of Delhi

Earlier this month, Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Hansraj Ahir claimed that over 1,000 stores selling generic medicines would be opened across India in June this year when the Narendra Modi government would launch a scheme to make medicines affordable and accessible. The minister also said that 3,000 such shops would be operational within this year. These stores would stock 504 essential generic medicines to begin with and then scale it to over 670 medicines.