Branded heart, diabetes drugs much costlier than generic ones

New Delhi : Leading brands of some of the drugs used for treatment of cardiac diseases and diabetes are up to 10 times higher than generic medicines, government said.

"Yes, it is a fact that some branded medicines are many times costlier than generic medicines," Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Mansukh L Mandaviya said in a reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

The average price of leading brands of cardiac treatment drugs such as Amlodipine 5 mg and Atenolol 50 mg film coated tablets, Ramipril 5 mg tablets and Losartan 50 mg and Hydroclorothiaze 12.5 mg tablets is 10-8 times costlier than the generic medicines in Jan Aushadhi Kendras, he added.

In the diabetes drugs segment the average price of leading brands of some medicines is also higher between 10-3 times the MRP of generic drugs in Jan Aushadhi Kendras, Mandaviya said.

While leading brands of Glimepiride 2 mg tablets are available for Rs 50 for a 10 tablets pack size, the generic medicine is available at Rs 5.05 in the Jan Aushadhi Kendras, he added.

On the other hand, Metformin HCL 500 mg tablets leading brands are 3 times higher than the generic medicines in the Jan Aushadhi Kendras, Mandaviya said.

In the antibiotic segment also the leading brands of some of the medicines are higher up to 4 times, he added.

The leading brands of Ofloxacin 200 mg tablets are priced at Rs 52.60 for a 10 tablets pack while the generic medicines are available at Rs 14.80 in Jan Aushadhi Kendras, Mandaviya said.

He also said that "the group of secretaries have made several recommendations for promotion of generic medicines".