DOCTORS TO PRESCRIBE ONLY GENERIC DRUGS

Key Points

• The NMC has suspended a regulation from the Registered Medical Practitioner (Professional Conduct) Regulations, 2023 that would have fined doctors for not prescribing generic medications.
• A generic drug (GD) is a medicine developed to be identical to a brand-name drug that has previously been commercialized in terms of dose form, potency, mode of administration, quality, performance traits, and intended use.
• The Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940 and the Drugs & Cosmetics Rules of 1945 do not define "generic drugs."
•  Although compulsory licensing under the Indian Patent Act permits it without consent during any urgency, it is still possible to commercialize it after the branded drug's patent expires.

• Significance of GDs for India:

• increases the availability and accessibility of essential medications.
• Due to its generally lower pricing, it could lower healthcare costs.
• For the same product, many generic medications are frequently approved, resulting in competition.
• 20–22% of generic medicine exports worldwide come from India.

• Challenges: Lack of facilities for high-quality testing, perpetual renewal of patents, heavy reliance on imports for key raw materials, dealers in fake medications, etc.

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