PHP83 Community Pharmacist'S Perceptions Towards the Quality of Locally Manufactured Generic Medicines: A Descriptive Study from Malaysia

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:To investigate the characteristics of clinical trials conducted in 5 Asian countries over the past 2 years with a focus on: disease conditions, funding sources and age groups. METHODS: ClinicalTrials.gov was searched for trials initiated after January 1, 2010 in the following countries: Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand. The 10 most common conditions and trial sponsors were ranked and the percentage of trials in adults and children was calculated. These figures were compared between countries. RESULTS: During the time period, the following number of trials were identified (number; trials per 1,000,000 population): Taiwan (826; 35.6), Korea (1597; 32.7), Thailand (375; 5.4), Malaysia (132; 4.6) and Indonesia (47; 0.2). The most common trials in all countries were for chronic conditions. Trials on type 2 diabetes were the most common trials in Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia (range: 3-18%), and were the 3 rd most common in Korea (2%). Breast cancer trials were also common in all 5 countries (range: 1-2%) and non-small cell lung cancer trials were common in 4 countries (range: 1-2%), except Indonesia. Funding for the trials was predominantly non-industry in Taiwan, Thailand and Korea (64%, 61% and 53% respectively), but predominantly industry in Malaysia and Indonesia (72% and 54% respectively). Over 40% of trials in Taiwan were sponsored by local medical institutions. Trials in adults alone were the most common in all countries: Korea (84%), Malaysia (84%), Taiwan (81%), Thailand (74%) and Indonesia (65%). CONCLUSIONS: The number of trials per 1,000,000 population was much higher in Taiwan and Korea than in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Trials conducted in all these countries, however, show strong similarities in terms of the conditions studied; although there are some differences (e.g. funding sources) between the countries that suggest other factors influence clinical trials in these countries.

Perceptions of physicians from private medical centers in Malaysia about generic medicine usage: a qualitative study

“…Studies from various countries indicate that pharmacists are generally in favour of generics substitution and view generic medicines as being effi cacious and safe [17]. Pharmacists can play a major role in promoting generics usage.…”

“…This will be driven by higher exports of generic medicines, enhanced generics, and increased clinical research in Malaysia [15]. Different studies conducted in Malaysia have revealed that patients and general physicians are concerned about the quality and effi cacy of generics and that most do not prefer to use them [16,17]. These concerns are somewhat valid, as the requirement for bioequivalence studies for all generic drugs was only implemented by the Ministry of Health in 2012.…”

Physicians’ perceptions of generic medicine in Iran

“…The cost of generic medicines is usually lower than that of their brand name alternatives [4]. Therefore, shifting to the generic medicines, which are released to the market after the expiration of the patent of the original brand name drug [5] and are pharmacologically equivalent to the original drugs [4], may play an important role in containing pharmaceutical costs [5] and improving medicine access and affordability [2,6].…”

“…Apart from government policies and regulations, this strategy is influenced by perception and behaviour of patients, pharmacists and physicians. More specifically, physicians, the main decision makers in healthcare systems, play a pivotal role in generic substitution [1,6,11].…”

Persepsi, Pengetahuan, dan Sikap tentang Obat pada Siswa Sekolah Menengah Atas (SMA) di Kota Pariaman, Sumatera Barat

“…Obat merupakan komoditi kesehatan dimana sebagian besar intervensi medik menggunakan obat dan biaya obat merupakan biaya terbesar yaitu sekitar 60-70% dari total biaya pengobatan [1,2]. Dimensi obat sangat luas sehingga penggunaannya berdampak langsung kepada derajat kesehatan masyarakat termasuk pada kelompok usia anak-anak dan remaja.…”