Patients saved €7 million with generic medicines

The market share of generics in Portugal reached a new record recently, according to provisional figures from Infarmed.

Funds saved

Between January and July 2017 patients reduced their costs by €7.8 million by using generics compared to the same period in 2015.

Generics analysed

Over the last 13 years, 2624 generics (from more than 500 active substances) were analysed by the national authority. Omeprazole, amlodipine, ramipril, alprazolam and sertraline were the five active substances with more analysed generics.

The increased acceptance of generics followed several information campaigns tailored towards patients.

One of the campaigns rewarded pharmacies with 35 cents per generic package dispensed.  Infarmed, Portugal’s government agency accountable to the health ministry, noted these contributions are intended to achieve a goal of 50%.

Benefits of generic medicines

The body said: “This increase in market share is a sign that the involvement of physicians, pharmacists and patients can guarantee the best access to medicines with greater savings to both users and the National Health Service.”

Confidence rising

Confidence in generic medicines and biosimilars has increased over recent years, thanks to the growth in available safety and quality information.

According to data from the Infarmed’s Laboratory, brand-name drugs and generics have the same quality and they both have a number of residual non-conformities. The non-compliance identified situations, which involve withdrawals, affect only 1.5% of the products in both cases.