Generic medicines are those where patent protection has expired, and which may be produced by manufacturers\r\nother than the innovator company. Use of generic medicines has been increasing in recent years, primarily as a\r\ncost saving measure in healthcare provision. Generic medicines are typically 20 to 90% cheaper than originator\r\nequivalents. Our objective is to provide a high-level description of what generic medicines are and how they differ,\r\nat a regulatory and legislative level, from originator medicines. We describe the current and historical regulation of\r\nmedicines in the world�s two main pharmaceutical markets, in addition to the similarities, as well as the differences,\r\nbetween generics and their originator equivalents including the reasons for the cost differences seen between\r\noriginator and generic medicines. Ireland is currently poised to introduce generic substitution and reference pricing.\r\nThis article refers to this situation as an exemplar of a national system on the cusp of significant health policy\r\nchange, and specifically details Ireland�s history with usage of generic medicines and how the proposed changes\r\ncould affect healthcare provision
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