Abstract

A COMPARATIVE OVERVIEW OF GENERIC DRUG REGULATION IN USA, UK AND INDIA

Naseela V. V.*, A. Sheik Alisha, B. Senthilkumar and N. Senthil Kumar

.

Abstract

Consumers in the US are saving a lot of money thanks to the sharp rise in the use of generic pharmaceuticals. In order to help the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) discover strategies to encourage the use of generic drugs, Secretary Sebelius asked the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) to look into possible opportunities and roadblocks to doing so. This Issue Brief provides an overview of the findings from ASPE's review of the relevant literature. Let's start by briefly reviewing the trends in the use of generic medications, their legislative history in the United States, and their potential to reduce healthcare costs. Next, the literature on generic drug costs and healthcare savings is examined. We divide the data on barriers to the use of generic medications into three primary categories: state-level generic replacement regulations, generic availability characteristics, and attitudes and behaviors of physicians and customers. Overall, we found that there is currently a significant amount of use of generic medications. As we'll see in the section below, there will soon be more substitution particularly therapeutic substitution as the supply of generic drugs is expanding, which is encouraging for cost savings.

Keywords: .