Silvio Garattini
Today generics suffer from a competitive disadvantage compared to branded drugs which derives from the notoriety of the brand. To restore balance, it would be enough to impose by law that upon expiry of a molecule's patent, all the specialties based on this substance should abandon the commercial name and adopt the generic DCi, i.e. active ingredient plus manufacturer. The proposal is by Silvio Garattini, director of the Mario Negri Research Institute, and was launched during the conference organized yesterday in Milan by Assogenerici, Teva and Ratiopharm to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the official entry of "off patents" into the NHS.
«The unpatented ones» recalled the president of Assogenerici, Giorgio Foresti «have gradually made their effects felt on public spending, but these effects could be even greater if the consumption of these drugs were in line with the averages of other European countries. The truth, however, is that the legislator is only interested in the generic acting as a hare to lower prices, nothing else. Thus, there is a lack of any type of information, vis-à-vis consumers and prescribers, and this is the reason why even today the 60% of family doctors raises doubts about the efficacy of this type of drug».
Hence the considerations of Silvio Garattini: «Doctors must be made to understand that when a molecule becomes generic it does not mean that its history is over. Actions are needed to balance the competition between branded and generics, taking away the advantage of the brand from the former or requiring doctors to prescribe only the name of the active ingredient» Michele Uda, head of the Assogenerici study center and co-author (together with Massimo Cherubini and Francesca Giani) of the book "Generic drug, a ten-year journey", presented during the conference, recalled the contribution of off-patents to public spending. "In the last three years alone," he explained, "generic drugs have saved the NHS about 900 million euros. Overall, we are witnessing a consolidation in the use of cash equivalents, but Italy is still bringing up the rear with respect to the main European countries and consequently the stability of its accounts continues to be at risk. In fact, let's not forget the warning from the WHO: in 2015 the costs of innovative therapies will have reached such a level that the savings guaranteed by generication will no longer be enough to compensate for the increase in spending».
DoctorNews – December 14, 2010
