Of Mario Caruso
The Pediatrician Cultural Association, chaired by doctor Paolo Siani, says yes to the use of "no brand" medicines provided that the absolute equivalence of the products, their quality and controls in the production processes is guaranteed and that there is more information from authoritative and independent sources for a more correct use of medicines.
And a call to industry: pediatric generics are more "kid-friendly" in flavor and delivery tools.
The ACP opens the door to the prescription of generic medicines, the use of which results in certain savings for the NHS, in fact when the patent expires and the active ingredient begins to be marketed by other companies as well, the price must fall by law by at least 20%, but often it also comes down to the 50% cheaper.
In fact, the Cultural Association of Pediatricians considers it unacceptable that in a period of economic crisis such as the one we are going through, it is patients who take on the burden of paying the difference between the cost of a bioequivalent drug and that of a branded drug.
President Siani assures us of today's government and of what will come tomorrow, we ask for more information and safety on no-brand drugs:
QUALITY': the need for generic drugs to be equivalent in terms of quality and production process controls to branded ones;
STOP TO THE INFORMATION MONOPOLY OF THE INDUSTRY: information on generic and non-generic medicines must be provided by the scientific community after a careful evaluation of the evidence available for a more rational use of medicines, modifying the AIFA "transparency lists" which should be accompanied by the results of studies of bioequivalence, the comparison of generics with each other and the composition of excipients;
MORE KNOWLEDGE: it is necessary to provide independent tools to doctors to deepen their knowledge on the pharmacological properties of the active ingredients they prescribe to patients and its real content in the generic formulation.
Finally, a reference to the industry: in the production of generic drugs, the needs of children must be taken into account (palatability, measuring cups for oral administration and more).
At a time when there is much discussion of careful management of
