The effects of the entry into force of the Balduzzi decree on the generic drug market appear to have been disregarded, which for the moment is registering an increase of 6.9%, for a growth of one percentage point in the sector which goes from 17 to 18%. Italy therefore remains distant from the European average (55%) and there is already talk of a flop. "In the 10 years of experience with generics in Italy," he commented Ovid Brignoli, vice president of the Italian Society of General Medicine (Simg) «family doctors have hindered the spread of these drugs by opposing a resistance not based on bioequivalence and in the erroneous perception and belief that they are produced in countries where there are no quality standards. To the point that a decree was necessary which, moreover, was only badly received by the doctors who did not read it. On the other hand, it should be an institutionally due act on the part of the doctor to prescribe the most effective drug at the lowest cost". Market data is confirmed by the results of a survey promoted by the National Observatory on Women's Health (Onda) which shows that women, the main family decision makers in this area, still show great diffidence in abandoning the branded drug to switch to an equivalent. Less than one out of four women spontaneously requests it from the pharmacist, two out of five accept it if it is offered to them but in the face of many questions in half of the cases, while those who refuse it and continue to choose the branded drug do so immediately in two out of three cases.!
October 17, 2012 – DoctorNews
