Hyderabad: Generic medicine rules flouted brazenly in Rajendranagar

Rajendranagar: Amid the concern over the ever increasing Coronavirus pandemic, the generic medicines is facing the brunt as the organised drug mafia resorted to aggressive promotion of branded ones.

Activists feel that there is a need of bringing awareness about generic medicines in Rajendranagar as pharmacies are engaged in mostly selling branded drugs which are costlier and unaffordable to people from poor and marginalised communities.

"Moreover, in a state of prevailing lockdowns due to Coronavirus and economic meltdown there is an imminent threat of inflation in prices of essential commodities in the days to come" , rued Syed Shaukat Ali, a resident of Shastripuram colony under Rajendranagar.

"Branded medicine culture was brought to market to gain easy and high profits keeping the generic medicine culture under curtains. Usually the margin on generic drugs is very low when compared to that of branded drugs," said Saiprasad Shastry, a retired IRS, a social activist.

"The government should take appropriate measures to ensure every doctor and pharmacy adheres to the laws writing generic name of a drug rather than a brand name. More so, the law enforcing agencies must take cognizance of violations and act against those going against the rules," he added.

What are Generic Medicines?

A generic medicine works in the same way and provides the same clinical benefit as its brand-name version. In other words, you can take a generic medicine as an equal substitute for its brand-name counterpart.

Though the laws in India clearly says that all medical prescriptions should give generic names and pharmacies must make them available to patients, however no such laws are being followed in the city.