Whether it is possible to be treated economically: original drugs, analogs and generics

Any person who faced a disease knows that treatment costs expensive. It belongs also to consultations of qualified specialists, and to the diagnostic procedures which are not included in the list of obligatory medical services.

The question of cost of medicines is not so unambiguous: almost each drug is produced several producers at once, and the price of medicine can differ many times. In such situation there is a sense to understand in what original means, their analogs and generics differ from each other.

How the price of drug and its generics forms?

Emergence on sale of new drug is always preceded by a lot of work. As a rule, the scientists employed by one of major pharmaceutical companies represent results of researches of influence on a human body of earlier not applied combination of the known substances (very seldom – with inclusion of absolutely new, recently synthesized substance). To get permission to industrial release of medicine, it is necessary to test it some time in laboratory for animals, and then to conduct full clinical trials in public. Only after receiving reliable estimates of efficiency and safety of drug on it the patent can be issued. Then the firm will organize the advertizing company to draw attention of doctors and patients to unfamiliar means. All process takes several years and costs considerable money. As a result new medicine enters the market, and expenses on its studying, to patenting and advertizing inevitably join in its cost.

Having patented structure of medicine and a trade name, the firm acquires the right to individually let out him during the term of patent protection. This period is not identical to the different countries, for example, in Russia it makes from 10 to 25 years, and in the USA – 12 years. All this time the company inventor gets profit on drug sales. Certainly, and other firms wish to participate in production of a novelty, but before the expiration of patent protection legally it cannot be made. Besides, if medicine is really effective, consumers also are interested in its expanded release. At the same time drug depreciation that it became available to the patients having low prosperity is very desirable.

All these reasons lead to emergence in the market of generics – copies of the original drugs which are released with the permission of firm inventor or after the term of patent protection. As a rule, they are made or under other names (patenting only attracts names much smaller expenses, than registration of initial means), or under the international non-proprietary name as which the name of the main active ingredient of drug acts.

Generic usually costs cheaper, than original medicine. Manufacturers try to obtain it in three ways:

1. Place production in those countries where there is a large number of cheap labor. It should be noted, as the firms owning patents quite often arrive quite so, aiming to reduce the cost of the drug;
2. Using cheaper raw materials for production of the substances rendering therapeutic effect. This way can strongly reduce medicine cost, but not always allows to keep up to standard its quality;
3. Replacing the excipients which are a part of drug with cheaper. In spite of the fact that active ingredients remain the same, such generics can have also smaller efficiency, than original means, and more side effects.

Sometimes unfair producers begin to release "analogs" of demanded drugs, without waiting for expiration dates of patents. This action in itself is violation of the law so it is no wonder that in similar cases with the original nobody especially cares for real identity. Reception of drugs fakes can have the most unpredictable effects.

Whether it is worth buying generics instead of original drugs?

Before resolving for themselves this issue, it is necessary to understand that generics seldom are full analogs of initial drugs. That two drugs released different producers were considered identical, similarity of their chemical composition is not enough. Analogs have to be identical biologically and therapeutic, that is to differ in nothing from each other neither on specifics of assimilation in an organism, nor on a way of influence. At the same time identity needs to be proved by means of results of extensive clinical trials. It is clear, that the firm producing generic will never go to such expenses as it will strongly increase the cost of its products and will deprive of an opportunity to compete with the original.

Those generics which are made according to the license of firms inventors and under their direct control are as close as possible to original means. In such cases quality is carefully traced as the large pharmaceutical companies do not wish to cast a shadow on the reputation.

The generic produced by the third-party pharmaceutical company usually contains the same active ingredient that original medicine. If it is made without disturbance of technology, the consumer can expect similar therapeutic effect. Considering an essential difference in the price, as a part of excipients sometimes it is worth closing eyes to small distinctions (certainly if these distinctions do not become the reason of heavy side effects). For this reason WHO supports the idea of production of cheap analogs of expensive branded drugs. Recommendations of this organization already helped millions of needy patients with the different countries of the world, to get access to the modern means facilitating the course of serious illnesses and increasing quality of life.

Each person has to solve independently whether he will overpay for a brand if there is an opportunity to accept cheaper, but not less effective medicine with the same operating components. It is worth remembering also that affirmative answer on this question does not exclude need of the choice of qualitative generic at all (especially as almost for each original means them exists a little). Reasonable approach to treatment assumes following to recommendations of specialists and sober assessment of the opportunities and requirements.