At a press conference Saturday, talking about the efficacy and other misconceptions about generic drugs, Professor Vivek Lal, Director PGIMER said, “Many studies from PGI published in international journals prove that even in lethal diseases like cancer, generic drugs are very effective.”
Professor Lal further said that in transplant, in preventing rejection of a transplant, generic drugs are equally effective, and that too, at one-fifth of the right price. The yardstick is to procure the right generic medicines from the right chemist. He cited a 2018 study, ‘Real world experience with ‘generic’ pomalidomide in relapsed refractory multiple myeloma,which states, “In India, only the generic counterpart of the pomalidomide is available and not the original one as it is very expensive. So FDI is using only a generic counterpart. There is a superior response to generic drugs as compared to the innovator drug available in the USA. The encouraging experience adds evidence to the efficacy of the generic drug even in challenging patients such as multiple myeloma.”
The Director quoted another published study, ‘Cost and complications are limitations in resource-constrained settings for equine anti-thymocyte globulin’. “We are a leading public sector hospital in organ transplant and we celebrated 50 years of renal transplant on June 21. The most important part of transplantation is preparing a patient for transplant, otherwise, the patient’s body rejects the kidney. In that preparation, the most important drug to prepare a patient for transplant is a drug called anti-thymocyte globulin, ATG. This study, again published from PGI, has proven that not only is a generic drug effective in preparing a patient for transplant and preventing subsequent rejection, even half dose generic, is as effective as the innovative drugs available across the globe.”
Dispelling the myth about quality control in Jan Aushadhi Centres, Prof Lal stated, “Outside the USA, India has the maximum number of FDA-approved factories in the world. We at PGI take drugs from WHO-approved plants and then every batch is checked by NABL labs at regular intervals. So, quality is ensured at Jan Aushadhi Centres and Amrit pharmacies, and it is difficult to ensure the same quality when medicine is taken from any other pharmacy store as ethics of the owner of the pharmacy also impact the quality.”
Citing clear evidence, Prof. Lal said, “The Institute prefers to procure generic drugs and a testimony to the same is the fact that during the year 2022-23, the total drugs purchased by PGI comprised 88% generic drugs and only 12% branded drugs.”
The Director added that the Institute has reiterated its earlier multiple orders to all its doctors to prescribe generic medicines to the patients and it is also in line with the vision of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India in providing affordable medical treatment to the poor and needy patients. Prof Lal added that the need of the hour was to also make people aware of the availability and efficacy of branded generic drugs.
The total sales from seven Amrit Pharmacy Centres, the highest in the country in any public sector hospital, for the last three months (April1-June 23) amounted to Rs 44 crores. The total sales from the two Jan Aushadhi Centres of PGI, which stock only medicines and not surgical appliances as in Amrit Pharmacy, for the same period (April1-June 23) amounted to Rs 72 lakhs. “We have plans to open more Jan Aushadhi centres at the Institute, including the Emergency,” added Gaurav Dhawan, Deputy Director (Administration) and Official Spokesperson, PGI.
