Cost variation analysis of various brands of topical eye preparations currently available in Indian pharmaceutical market

Background: Ocular drug delivery is a complex drug delivery system, and topical administration being the most frequently employed route of drug delivery in eye diseases. Many topical eye preparations are sold under brand names. The variation in the costs of the same drug and inadequate information on quality and bio-equivalence makes it difficult for the physician to prescribe the most cost-effective treatment. The objective of this study was to analyse the cost variation in different brands of commonly used topical eye preparations in India.Methods: The minimum and the maximum cost in Rupees (INR) of particular topical eye preparations manufactured by various pharmaceutical companies in the same strength were noted. The percentage cost variation and cost ratio were calculated for each brand.Results: The costs of the total of 19 topical eye preparations available in 26 different formulations in India were analysed and a substantial variation in cost was observed. Of 19 drug formulations studied, the percentage cost variation of 10 drug formulations was more than 100% out of which one had more than 1000% variation. Cost ratio was also observed to be very high and 10 drug formulations had this ratio more than two.Conclusions: There is a wide variation in the prices of different brands, so there is an urgent need to raise the awareness of physicians about cost variation to lower the financial burden on patients.