Pharmaceutical industry has taken strong objection to the directives issued by the state governments of Rajasthan and Bihar last month asking all the state government hospitals in these states to prescribe only generic drugs for the patients.

The secretary, the ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Bihar issued an order last month directing all heads of the state government hospitals to prescribe only generic drugs to cut the healthcare costs. A similar circular was also issued by the directorate of Medical, Health & Family Welfare Services, Rajasthan last week.

Industry sources fear that the decisions by these two state governments will not only have serious impact on pharmaceutical units operating in these states but also on public health as large number of people will not get quality medicines.

Although generic drugs are also expected to contain same active pharmaceutical ingredients, as is the case with branded products, generic drugs are not trusted by many consumers for their quality, efficacy and safety.

The sources pointed out that branded drugs normally have better bioequivalence than generics as the brand manufacturer uses better quality of raw materials, excipients and other inputs. And a good bioequivalence guarantees proper bioavailability to the patients. As branded drugs assure these important parameters, most doctors also do not prescribe generics.

The directives of state governments also interfere with the freedom of the physicians as to what to prescribe. It is prerogative of a trained medical practitioner to prescribe a drug of his choice to the patient he examines and the governments should not interfere with that, the sources said.

Forcing doctors in public hospitals to prescribe generic drugs may also give opportunity to the sales staff in retail pharmacies to promote substandard generic products on the basis of higher trade margins.

The Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA) and Organization of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) with Bihar and Rajasthan state governments have jointly taken up the matter.