As mentioned earlier, overall, mean drug availability was found to be around 51% with highest at PMBJP pharmacies at secondary level of care i.e., at peripheral hospitals (52.5%), followed by tertiary level i.e. medical college (50.8%) and primary level i.e. health post (48.7%). More than 70% of PMBJP pharmacies across all levels of care had the medicines in categories of cardiovascular, analgesics, antacids and vitamins. On the other hand, the availability of antiasthmatic and antipsychotic medicines was very low-only a third of the PMBJP pharmacies had them. Anticancer and electrolyte balancer were not available in more than four-fifth of PMBJP stores, while half of the pharmacies had antimicrobial, antidiabetics, palliative care medicines, anti-epileptics.

Pharma’s new age of longevity

As such, pharmaceutical companies are permitted to increase the prices of their drugs by this percentage. The marginal price adjustment is expected to affect 923 scheduled formulations listed in the NLEM, including antibiotics, cardiovascular medicines, tuberculosis drugs, and Parkinson’s and dementia medicines, among others; the small scale of the adjustment renders it meaningless compared to previous price adjustments. However, it instead tipped the balance in favor of the pharmaceutical industry’s commercial interests, and away from access to affordable medicines. For example, the development of a range of long-acting HIV prevention and treatment medicines could be transformative in advancing the end of AIDS — but this can only happen if those medicines are made widely available at low prices through large-scale generic production. India has long been known as the “pharmacy of the world,” producing generic medicines at prices that other developing countries and global institutions can afford. The country was the single largest supplier of pharmaceutical products to Africa in 2018, and accounted for a fifth of the continent’s pharmaceutical imports.

Publications

• These policy issues, along with market forces, drive the response of the public and private sectors to reimbursement policies, as well as determine the extent of price control on pharmaceutical products.
• For example, melphalan to treat ovarian cancer cost the UK £1.82 for 2mg but in India its generic cost is 8p, a rise of 2,171%, the findings show.
• S&S was the first law firm in India to challenge the constitutional validity of the provisions of the Drugs (Price Control) Order, (DPCO) 2013, representing 15 pharmaceutical companies before the Delhi High Court in this groundbreaking case.
• Similarly, a defense strategy seems realistic when combining the experience with generic drug production with DPCO limits, thinking about a competitive strategy based on cost leadership, which may be sustainable considering the huge population of the country.
• “Established in 1992, BPI has a proven track record in the research & development and manufacturing of oral solutions, suspensions and suppositories,” underlined Jinesh Shah, director at Torrent Pharma.
• This enables firms like XtaIPi to identify thousands of molecules which could be used to treat a disease with fewer resources and time.
• Indian pharmaceutical companies have been a critical partner in the supply of these drugs by providing affordable medicines for major health conditions that enhance patient access, improve management of health conditions, and bring savings and resilience to the overall health system.

Faced with shortages and a limited number of suppliers, almost all of them overseas, the FDA is actually being forced to relax its standards, just to find any supplier of certain badly-needed drugs. Pharmaceutical imports rose again in 2023, and continue to be the second largest import category for U.S. consumer goods. At $208 billion worth of imports last year, pharmaceuticals are gaining quickly on motor vehicles, and likely to surpass them in a year or two. IQVIA Decentralized Trials deliver purpose-built clinical services and technologies that engage the right patients wherever they are. The IQVIA Innovation Hub connects start-ups with the extensive IQVIA network of assets, resources, clients, and partners. Together, we can help lead the future of healthcare with the extensive IQVIA network of assets, resources, clients, and partners.

Get insights from an industry expert

• The most relevant contribution of the research relies on the shift to innovative production that Indian companies must adopt (after years of focusing only on generic drugs), and in this vein, appropriate industrial marketing solutions are indispensable.
• Inspectors said these negative results at the plant , which makes an anti-psychotic, an opioid pain drug and an anti-nausea medicine for Canada, were not documented, reported or investigated.
• DPCO is a blessing for those who use medicine and has boosted their hopes of the availability of cheaper and better medicines, leading to a great psychological impact on consumers (Venkiteswaran, 2013).
• Thus, manufacturers have the freedom to set prices for their own drugs on the basis of various market forces, unless corrective measures are warranted.
• The FDCs, except the ones of proven quality, should be removed from the PMBJP’s list of medicines to safeguard public health.
• Ms. Chawla has authorised and contributed to various academic articles and journals on topics relating to cyber laws and copyright laws.

Also, a formulary containing the details of therapeutically interchangeable products is available for reference [36]. And for ensuring the quality of generics, information regarding bioequiavailability is sought from companies before they place the products on the market. Aside from the supply side initiatives, demand side measures such as physicians’ motivation to prescribe generic drugs, consumers’ attitude towards generic drugs have shown some results [42,43,44].

More Global Fund Sites

The five medicines chosen were alprazolam, (0.25 mg), cetirizine (10 mg), ciprofloxacin (500 mg), fluoxetine (20 mg), and lansoprazole (30 mg). The lack of well-established linkages between procurement and logistics often results in inefficient inventory management practices (temperature control, storage space, adherence to stock movement protocols, IT- enabled inventory management). Additionally, poor quality assurance mechanisms (empaneled labs for testing, accreditation, timely reporting), and insufficient supply down to the district and peripheral level facilities were observed in some states. The analysis of marketed AMLO containing FPPs was exercised using a validated analytical method. For each selected brand of AMLO FPP, two strips containing 20–30 tablets (in total), were taken. Further, individual tablets were weighed, triturated followed by weigh equivalent to 2.0 mg of AMLO besylate was taken and diluted to 20 mL with selected diluent.

Tools & Resources for Caregivers

“Established in 1992, BPI has a proven track record in the research & development and manufacturing of oral solutions, suspensions and suppositories,” underlined Jinesh Shah, director at Torrent Pharma. Given the interlinkages within various systemic processes, a move towards improving access to essential medicines must be subsumed under overall health systems strengthening across the states. Education curricular changes sensitizing providers on generic medicines, rational prescription, STGs/STPs, and continuum of care can mitigate undesirable practices. In Jordan, for instance, between 2002 and 2006, the less expensive generic alternatives of 79 percent of medicines were delayed by data exclusivity, threatening the financial sustainability of government public health programs. Similarly, Guatemalans found themselves unable to access medicines readily available in most countries at affordable prices, as Guatemala is bound by data exclusivity clauses in its free trade agreement with the United States. This is a statin or blood-thinner used by millions of patients at risk of cardiovascular disease.

Teva’s Top Graduates: From Academic Learning to Business Leadership

According to Qyobo’s data, atorvastatin is available from nine different drugmakers, including companies based in Germany, Bangladesh and Turkey. But all of those drugmakers depend on an Indian company, Ind-Swift Laboratories Ltd, for the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to make atorvastatin. And Ind-Swift depends on five companies, all of them Chinese, for the key starting materials (KSMs) to make the APIs. Unknown to American doctors or patients, the entire supply chain for this drug depends on China. The intense pressure to lower prices of generic pharmaceuticals has led to a different global structure. Generic production has moved increasingly to India and China as the lowest-cost manufacturing centers in the world.

How to buy Cabozantinib online in India

It meets 40% of the generic demand in the US and provides a quarter of all medicines in the UK. It has undergone a remarkable transformation, evolving into a dynamic powerhouse driving healthcare advancements worldwide. Interestingly, India is the biggest contributor to UNESCO, with a share of over 50-60%. The principal aim of this study is to conduct an explorative investigation of the current and future situation of the Indian pharmaceutical industry, with the development of a narrative SWOT analysis to generate an overall scenario analysis.

New Steel Trade Measures Needed as Import Issues Impact Additional Plants

Through the years, some SCM practices are identified to stand out as desirable and cost-effective. Additionally, the use of IT-based platforms for procurement and inventory management (i.e., storage, quality testing, tracking, monitoring, and allocation based on consumption patterns across the empaneled health facilities) are pivotal for a highly responsive and accountable system. The U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health proposed that “developed countries should not encourage developing countries to enter into” free trade agreements with TRIPS-plus measures, and that they should “be mindful of actions which may infringe upon the right to health.” In the same vein, as U.N. System leaders, we supported a 2016 report acknowledging governments’ limited policy space to enact actions regarding access to medicines due to TRIPS-plus measures in trade deals, which undermines their ability to protect the human right to health.

• This chapter has been written by a member of GLI’s international panel of experts, who has been exclusively appointed for this task as a leading professional in their field by Global Legal Group, GLI’s publisher.
• Another major concern is that medicines are not available where needed due to an inadequate supply chain and to the absence of potential producers that may not be attracted by these restrictions.
• To compare and evaluate the price and quality of “branded” and branded-generic equivalents of some commonly used medicines manufactured by the same pharmaceutical company in India.
• Difference in price-to-patient was not as huge as it is expected for generics but margins for retailer were very high for branded-generics.
• It is mandatory for all the companies to give Form V that gives details of the product with MRP, PTR, taxes paid, etc to their distributors.
• As part of its NextGen market-shaping approach, the Global Fund will continue to work with manufacturers to secure a sustainable supply of affordable HIV treatment.
• In my last two articles, I discussed the recent surge in prescription drug costs, the reasons for the surge, and possible solutions.

The World’s Pharmacy: India’s Generic Drug Industry

In response to this growing regulatory environment, pharmaceutical companies in India continue to strengthen their processes, while improving automation, operating procedures and quality management systems. This includes vigorously efficient quality control and quality assurance systems alongside training programs and workshops, building an omnipresent culture of quality. The result is a focus on quality that starts at a shop-floor level for machine operators, ensuring compliance from the ground up. In the past few years, expectations of regulatory organizations around the world have increased. With the number of companies and manufacturing facilities supplying to the regulated market growing fast, it is natural that the agencies are intensifying their efforts.

Selection of rational, affordable essential medicines and quality assurance criteria for PMBJP medicine list

• Doctors regularly write angry letters to newspapers complaining that they cannot find the drugs their patients need.
• The growth in population also affects reimbursement policies, since the Government has to allocate an increasing number of funds to public health insurance schemes and may be affected by budgetary constraints.
• According to a 2022 study released by GS1 India, a global supply chain standards organization, more than 50 per cent of Pharma and medical devices manufacturers lose 1 per cent of their sales due to expiry and pilferage.
• Under the DPCO, manufacturers are required to be aware of price fixation and revision by the NPPA since it is mandatory to follow the ceiling prices fixed and notified by the NPPA.
• For many Americans, the decision between generic and brand-name medications often comes down to cost.
• Although we reported availability, stock-outs and affordability of medicines in the PMBJP pharmacy outlets, a more comprehensive assessment of the accessibility of essential medicines may have included measurement of medicine prices, prescription pattern and out-of-pocket payments on medicines.
• The pharmacists, they claimed, will sell noneffective, or highly overpriced drugs once the authority to decide the drug for a given indication is bestowed upon the pharmacists through the policy of compulsory active ingredient prescribing.
• In India, many pharmaceutical companies manufacture two types of products for the same molecule, i.e. the branded product which they advertise and push through doctors and branded-generic which they expect retailers to push in the market.

Andrea Curry is an award-winning journalist with over 15 years of storytelling under her belt. She has won multiple awards for her work and is now the head of editorial at The Intake, where she puts her passion for helping independent healthcare practices into action. Inspired by “vertebrae,” our name embodies our mission to be the backbone of healthcare success. With over 165,000 providers and 190 million patient records, Tebra is redefining healthcare through innovation and a commitment to customer success. Electronic health records (EHR) and patient portals make it easier for providers to track patient preferences, allergies, and past prescriptions.

This is the first limitation of the research, thus, further investigations expanding the range of the data under examination would improve the reliability of the results. In value terms, the sector, considering the total manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemicals and botanicals (Table 1), is worth Rs. 145,841.1m in 2018–2019. The largest market share concerns ayurvedic and homeopathic medicaments (AYUSH medicines) with 24.37%, followed by antibiotics (API and formulations) with 18.82%, and anti-retroviral drugs for HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) treatment with 15.89%. These three pharmaceutical categories alone are worth approximately 60% of the entire Indian pharmaceutical production.

Cazanat (cabozantinib) by Natco Pharmaceuticals

Overall, the pharma and healthcare industry in India presents tremendous potential for growth especially in innovation, research, early detection, and futuristic solutions like robotics-assisted surgery. By leveraging its strengths, embracing technological advancements, and fostering collaboration, the Indian pharmaceutical industry can continue to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of healthcare delivery both domestically and internationally. Making the healthcare supply chain resilient will require end-to-end supply chain visibility through digitalisation and use of global standards which facilitate interoperability. According to the study, “over 80 per cent of the Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Manufacturers do not have product visibility till point of care. In October 2023, OPPI and EY conducted primary research, engaging with approximately 40 Chief Executive Officers (CXOs) representing prominent Indian and multinational pharmaceutical companies, as well as other industry organizations.

The generic drugs industry continues to strengthen itself as a key pillar of India’s burgeoning economy. As the largest provider of generics in the world, the sector contributes to 40% of the United States’ generic demand with Indian companies receiving sorafenib price in malaysia 304 Abbreviated New Drug Application approvals from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) in 2017. Moreover, the industry exports to almost every nation, and has significant footprints in all the highly-regulated developed markets.

Yet he and other experts agree one of the key problems with the Indian industry is a regulatory system that is not up to the job. That refers to testing done for the presence of active ingredients or unwanted impurities, both of which can have a direct impact on whether a drug does what it is supposed to do, experts say. Sloppy practices and even outright fraud at some – though not all — Indian facilities have been repeatedly documented. A National Post investigation found quality issues are directly affecting Canada in several ways. Reddy’s Laboratories is accused of ignoring tests showing unknown impurities in some of its drugs.

Will my doctor automatically prescribe generic drugs?

Affordability was calculated on the basis of number of days of wages that an unskilled worker requires to expend for a standard course of treatment for common acute and chronic conditions [22, 23]. 5, the cost of the treatment with PMBJP medicines was between 0.01 days’ wages and 0.48 days’ wages, suggesting that unbranded generic medicines at PMBJP pharmacies were relatively affordable than their branded counterparts. At 0.01 and 0.5 day’s wage, diazepam for treating anxiety and diclofenac for treating arthritis respectively were the cheapest generic medicines at PMBJP stores. The maximum price differential was observed for atorvastatin and clopidogrel, used for treating hypocholesteraemia and clopidogrel respectively, indicating that the unbranded medicines can be fairly affordable.

Worth the price? Push for cheaper generic drugs has Canadians buying questionable medicines from India

Effective systems are those which are not only apprised of local and aggregate demands for medicines but also have commensurate capacities to meet the demands. In this regard, the government of India has revised the national list of essential medicine to also include a newer range of services to ensure that healthcare facilities are equipped to provide services aligned with changing health needs.5 Likewise, states need to update their EMLs customized to their needs. Besides adequate HRH being one of the prime determinants for ensuring services and medicines, the plurality of job roles across the cadres brings out additional aspects for inspection and redressal. Learnings from states indicate that the ability of the community health workers to deliver community-based services (e.g., HBNC) is dependent on timely and adequate supply of medicine kits. Likewise, cost-effective, affordable, and quality services are linked to mechanisms promoting rational and scientific prescription practices of authorized providers.

It was argued that, in case of market based ceiling price, medicines would be way too expensive than under the cost-based pricing approach followed by DPCO, 1995 [12]. That the prices of drugs fixed by NPPA remained high and majority of medicines including several essential and lifesaving drugs were kept out of DPCO posed a challenge in terms of making the drugs affordable and accessible to the people [12, 13]. The issue of access to medicine is a primary cause of the skewed healthcare utilisation pattern in India.