Brand Name and Generic Drugs

Evolution of the generic drugs market

The introduction of the policies of prices of reference in 2001 was associated with increase of the participation in the market of generic, as much in volume as in values. The participation average by semester of generic drugs ascended to 2,5% of the total of the pharmaceutical product market from 1999 to 2002 and 6,17% from 2003 to 2004. From year 2004 in future, one has narrowed the breach of the participation by vol. and values, which reflects the more expensive generic drugs introduction. The increase in the participation of the market after 2002 can be attributed to the introduction of new generic drugs like omeprazol in 2003, and citalopram and the simvastatina in 2004.

The term generic drugs it as much makes reference to the active principles of the generic agent who commercializes itself for the first time or the generic variants of the existing ones. These last ones are generic drugs with different doses, inactive ingredients or therapeutic indications different from the original generic drug. In Belgium, the participation in the market of the variants exceeds to the one the generic ones new active principles. In 2003, the annual participation by vol. of the variants ascended to 0,41%, whereas the one of the new active principles was of 0,19%. In 2004, these values of 0,45 and 0,16%, respectively.

Strategies to maintain the consumption of original drugs The original drug manufacturers reacted to the introduction of the policy of prices of reference, reduced the prices of first and changed the category of regulation of the generic drugs generic drugs of section IV, where the prescription requires an a priori approval of a doctor of an insuring company, to section I or of prescription. An interesting case is the one of the lisinopril, whose generic versions were introduced in Belgium in 2002. The price of one of 2 original drugs was reduced (previous change to section I) until almost comparing the one of the generic drugs. However, the price of the remaining original drug stayed (and it remained in section IV), which was translated in the diminution of its consumption (of almost 43%) in 2004. Other variant new manufacturers sent to the market of the original drug, and so they extended the period of obtaining of patents.

Effects of generic drugs on the expenses of drugs In relation to the active principles for which the generic ones are available, the cost of original drugs fell of 631 million Euros in 2001 to 566 in 2002 and 473 in 2003.