ABSTRACT
Generic substitution is the act of switching from a branded drug to its therapeutically equivalent generic version. This study aims to systematically review the literature with regards to generic substitution around the globe. Studies compared generic and brand-name drugs for clinical efficacy and cost effectiveness. The current findings show that the new policies are aimed at supporting the development of the generics industry in the respective countries. Further investigation is needed to explore the implementation of the current generic substitution policies and how to increase their accessibility to the general population. Generic substitution policies comparison between countries were conducted among 9 countries, that is, Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Ireland, Japan, Switzerland, Indonesia, United State and United Kingdom. From 27 journals that were reviewed, only 14 were selected based on the fulfilled criteria appropriate to the journals that we had searched. All these policies were then studied to propose recommendations for generic substitution.
ABSTRACT
This study aimed to explore the perceptions of Malaysian community pharmacist towards locally manufactured generic medicines. A cross-sectional descriptive study involving entire population (N = 270) of Practicing community pharmacists in the State of Penang, Malaysia was undertaken using a self-completed anonymous mail questionnaire. Responses were received from 48 pharmacists (response rate 17.8%). Majority of the respondents (97.9%) actively dispensed generic medicines in their practice. Only 37.5% of the respondents viewed locally manufactured generic medicines as equal in quality compared to the imported generics from international manufacturers. However, approximately 60% of the respondents agreed that domestic generics are equal in safety and efficacy as the imported generic medicines. About half of the respondents (47.9%) believed that imported generic products need to pass more stringent approval process. Majority of the respondents (68.8%) urged that the Malaysian regulatory authorities should convince pharmacists about the quality of domestic generic medicines. The Malaysian pharmacists have lack of confidence with the generic medicines produced by local pharmaceutical companies.