egr. Dr. Cherubini,
I have been a Pharmaceutical Representative for 23 years and in the last five I have been dealing with expired patent drugs, often included as a reference in the various international guidelines.
Once again, I read with considerable disappointment the manipulation of public documents by AssoGenerici in the dissemination of press releases aimed at doctors and citizens to promote the use of generic drugs; promotion is legitimate, scientific disinformation is not, and I say this as a citizen and as an ISF. On the merits, in the press release dated May 18 on the "Campania model" we read: "The regional law of Campania on the prescription of generics and biosimilars is an important fact because it guarantees not only the economic compatibility of territorial and hospital pharmaceutical assistance, but it follows a different path from that of rationing services, with the possibility of obtaining savings even higher than those deriving from the application of produced by the Medicines Agency".
The text of the Decree is very different from what - quoting Vice President Colantuoni - one would like to have believed; already in the title is denied what AssoGenerici declaimed in the press release in question:
DECREE no. 27 of 03.15.2013
ref. letter g)
Subject: incentive measures for the prescription of off-patent drugs and of drugs
biosimilars.
As AssoGenerici's communication manager, Dr. Cherubini, I invite you to re-read the Decree itself more carefully (http://www.quotidianosanita.it/allegati/allegato7890486.pdf), in the belief that on your part there was no malevolent and distorting interpretation in translating "expired patent drugs" with "generics", but an oversight related to the company name of his employer. However, this AssoGenerici press release is the umpteenth (and, alas, I don't think even the last) act that manipulates the reality of drugs no longer covered by short protection
