Generic Medicines as Important Support to the Public Health

The COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the urgent need for serious investments and strengthening of healthcare systems worldwide. While the number of people ill with coronavirus is still rapidly increasing, there is still no solid evidence that any medicine can prevent or completely cure this disease. Luckily, some existing medicines, as well as their certain combinations can provide relief to patients, alleviate symptoms, and help in recovery. That’s why we show here below why generic medicines are important support to doctors but also to the overall healthcare system.

The answers to this topic are provided to us by Bojana Podgorac, master of pharmacy and medical biochemist.

BP: „The use of generic medicines is on the rise worldwide. Life expectancy has increased, and due to aging population, expenses for treatment of chronic diseases are rapidly growing. That’s why generic medicines, as high quality but cheaper therapeutic alternatives, provide for greater availability of therapies to all patients that need them and contribute to stability and sustainability of the healthcare system. Thanks to domestic industry in Serbia, regular supply of the market with high-quality generic medicines is secured even in the most difficult circumstances. It means that high-quality therapy, the same one used to treat the patients in highly developed countries is available also to our citizens.”

Generic medicines make nearly 80 percent of the market in Serbia in terms of packs and about 45 percent in terms of value. This percentage is equivalent to the percentage in majority of EU countries.

Nevertheless, the researches show that citizens of Serbia do not have sufficient knowledge about generic medicines with which they are most frequently treated and which are prescribed to them by doctors. An online survey of the British Institute of Health Promotion and Education which covered also countries of our region showed that there was either no answer to the question ’What is a generic medicine?’ or the answer was mostly wrong.

BP: ’Generic medicine is a high-quality pharmaceutical product. It is developed modelled on the corresponding original medicine and it is equal to the original medicine in terms of its composition, efficiency and possible side effects. It is used for same indications and prescribed in equal doses. The only difference is its more affordable price.”

Find here the generic medicines from Hemofarm’s portfolio.

Reliable, efficient and much more affordable

Why is the price of generic medicines lower? Does that mean that they are of poorer quality?

BP: „Certainly not. Generic medicine is equal to the original one; it has the same concentration of active substance and the same therapeutic effect in the body as the original medicine. Hemofarm, as the leader of domestic industry, follows the top global quality standards in production and that’s why the medicines of this company are present in more than 30 countries of the world on three continents. You wonder why the price of generic medicine is more affordable – because it is not necessary to repeat extensive and expensive clinical trials in the production of a generic medicine that has to be carried out in the period of development of innovative medicine and which sometimes cost the innovative company more than billion dollars.”

Domestic pharmaceutical industry is an important support to the healthcare system. The COVID-19 pandemic has again shown to us why is it important to strengthen one’s own resources. In line with the recommendations of WHO, the competent institutions of the European countries will have to provide for additional funds to strengthen the readiness of healthcare system for possible future epidemics. Still, it is important to bear in mind that securing the sustainability of healthcare system is not at all an easy task even for much richer countries than Serbia.

BP: „The task of domestic industry is to provide for efficient and safe pharmaceutical products of the latest generation at affordable prices. Thanks to their lower price, generic medicines are available to a broad scope of patients, which contributes to the treatment quality and at the same time provides for support to the sustainability of healthcare system. Savings made that way increase the budget which can be allocated to essential expensive medical treatments and new researches of innovative medicines.”