Generic Vs Branded Generic Vs Patented Medicines – A grossly wrong narrative for public and it’s remedy
by Dr Alok Vashishtha

In our country most of the medicines are generic only and it is wrong to use term like branded medicines.

We need to understand what is a generic medicine or drug.

To start with we need to understand what is a patented drugs, so these are actually originally made innovator medicine or drug made by a big pharmaceutical company either based at USA or Europe as they only have such facilities and funding to develop them.

According to intellectual property rights and many other laws these innovator medicines or drugs are covered under patent laws under which no other Pharma company can make them till duration of patent protection to recover the cost incurred by them on developing this drug.

These innovator drug is patented as a novel idea, concept or drug and then goes through different stages of development and phases of trials and comes market by a patented name.

The patent covers whole duration of development also and till it is ready and it is usually 20 years.

Once this patent protection is over anybody can make this drug and then it is known as generic drug.

Generic medicine can be made and sold by its salt name or by a name which is registered by any Pharma company which is wrongly termed by as branded medicine.

In India according to rules you can register any name of a particular generic salt by paying specified fees.

Generic medicine marketed by only salt name are manufactured in unorganised sector with doubtful quality control and hence efficacy.

There is a very different angle also in branded generics that some Indian Pharma company make generic medicines of same salt with different names also and their target is only traders not doctors and they are not discussed by there sales representative so doctors do not know about these brand names and it is a business strategy adopted by them and this is also allowed under rules.

Indian companies like Cipla, Sun, Mcleods and many others make generic medicines only but ensure proper quality control and hence efficacy and exported all over world.

The patented medicines are very expensive and are usually not easily available in India till patent protection is there and so are not prescribed by doctors in India.

So when there generic version is available at a fraction of costs why doctors will write patented brand. Example of this is all new anti diabetic which are now readily made by all Indian Pharma companies after their respective patents expired.

For further understanding you can note that AUGMENTIN is original patented brand made by GSK but as its patent expired so many Indian companies are making it and marketing and we are prescribing them.

So government itself is registering all brands and allowing them to be in market.

The price control of generics made by any company in India is control by Government in our country and doctors have no role.

So government need to ensure uniform quality of all generics made in our country so that doctors can prescribe with salt name only and need not mention the name of Pharma company making it.

Also Indian is known as pharmacy of world because of very big Pharma Industry and is recognised all over the world so government can talk to all stakeholders and make suitable amendments and ensure that all generics are available only with salt name and at same costs and most importantly strict quality controls so there is no issue like this.

So next time if anybody talks about branded vs generic medicine please update them accordingly.

Dr Alok Vashishtha

Please send it to all concerned.