PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 246 - 22 Jan 2000 Regulate market for generic drugs? Writing in the BMJ, pharmacologists from the University of Liverpool, UK, wonder whether it is time to regulate the market for generic drugs.* They note that a ‘dramatic’ increase in the cost of generic drugs occurred last year. They point out that the large price rises ‘threaten to undermine the development of primary care groups and suggest that the market for generic drugs can no longer remain unregulated’.
Price increases significant The pharmacologists note that some of the price increases have been significant. For example, the Drug Tariff price of thyroxine 100µg tablets increased by 700% and that of furosemide by 765% in the past 12 months. In one UK health authority, the predicted extra cost of generic drugs has been estimated at £2 million on an annual total expenditure of £38 million ($US61 million). The annual national drug bill would increase by about £250 million ($US400 million) if these figures were replicated across England. The reasons for the price rises are not clear, say the pharmacologists. However, they may be partly due to the movement of manufacturers to overseas sites and the change from bulk packs to individual patient packs according to European Union regulations. This results in increased costs and sometimes in disrupted production. As a result, shortages of products have occurred, in some cases for important medications such as metformin. ‘Clearly the old philosophy that market forces would keep generic costs down has failed’, say the pharmacologists. ‘Despite these problems, generic prescribing should still be encouraged both for quality and cost effectiveness of prescribing, but it can no longer be relied on to free cash for future service developments’, they conclude. * see also PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 246: 11, 22 Jan 2000; 800763166 Walley T, et al. Generic prescribing: time to regulate the market? BMJ 320: 800801573 131-132, 15 Jan 2000
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PharmacoEconomics & Outcomes News 22 Jan 2000 No. 246
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