Raising its concerns over the huge price disparity that exist between the generics and branded generics although the products are of same quality and efficacy, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare has recommended the central health ministry to bring in urgent measures to put an end to the practice of selling generics under brand name with higher prices.

While considering the Demands for Grants of the Department of Health and Family Welfare, for the year 2010-2011, the committee commented that it is pained by the fact that the poor patients have to very high prices for the branded medicines and such a situation is causing serious financial difficulties to the poor patients.

Even as the countries like US are switching over to the generic medicines, India continues to follow branded medication pattern. Probably India is the only country where generic branded and branded medicines are sold in open markets at the same time.

“Either it should be generic or branded. But in India, all big pharma companies are making branded generics with high price tag in comparison to generic drugs. The Committee notices that even if there is no difference of formulations, therapeutic use and the quality between a generics and branded generics, branded medicines are being sold at substantially higher prices in the market,” comments the panel headed by member of parliament, Amar Sigh.

The committee, further suggested the department 'to initiate measures so that generic medicines are not marketed and sold as generic branded medicines leading to exorbitant prices by the companies so that such medicines are available to the common man at reasonable prices'.

Opining that the current system leads to heavy burden on the exchequer as the government hospitals, dispensaries and Central Government Health Schemes (CGHS) procure branded generics, the committee asked the Department to make it mandatory for these institutions to procure only generic medicines. This will substantially reduce the procurement cost without compromising on the quality and efficacy of such medicines. It also recommended that it should be made mandatory for the government doctors to prescribe only generic medicines.

“The Committee is further given to understand that generic branded and branded medicines are being procured in all the Govt. hospitals, dispensaries and CGHS at substantially higher prices,” says the report.

The committee also expressed its displeasure with the delay in the revision of the National Essential Drug List of India (NEDL), which is at present under further revision by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI). The revision of the list is pending with the ministry for the last seven years, since the DCGI notified proposal for inclusion of a total of 354 drugs in the list, in 2003.

It opined that seven years is a long period and during this period several drugs would have become necessary for inclusion or deletion as per the changing requirements. Recommending an early revision of the list, it asked the concerned authority to update details like when the NEDL revision process started and whether there is a set time gap prescribed for initiating the revision.