Bitter Pills:Medicines & The Third World Poor | Page 145

GENERIC NAMES
Many governments have seen the advantages of buying drugs by generic name.
Very few have attempted to make generic prescribing or labelling compulsory.
The Hathi Committee, which reported to the Indian Government in 1975,
recommended phased abolition of brand names as one element of comprehensive
new drug policies. The Committee suggested that initially generic names should
be made compulsory for 13 drugs. (29) In the event, it was not until 1980 that the
Indian Government moved to ban brand names fo r 5 drugs. (30)
After the setting up of the State Pharmaceuticals Corporation in Sri Lanka in
1971, the use of generic names, already enforced in the public sector, was extended
to the private sector. Manufacturers were obliged to label their products with
generic names in bold type. Brand names could appear in lettering only half the
size. Exceptions were made for some patented products imported in small
quantities. However, after a change of Government in 1977, the enforcement of
generic names was relaxed and some major manufacturers reverted to their old
style of labelling, as illustrated opposite. (31)
In Afghanistan legislation introduced in 1979 compelled private wholesalers to
import only generic drugs listed in the national formulary. Brand name products
could only be imported if no generic equivalents were available and in these cases
the state buying agency carried out the transactions. (32)
In 1972 the Government of Pakistan made generic names compulsory. But the
policy was reversed four years later after a mass of substandard drugs flooded
onto the market. A subsequent investigation by the Pakistan Monopoly Control
Authority disproved claims that there had been anything wrong with the generics
policy itself, only with its implementation. The policy failed because quality control
checks were totally inadequate and little was done to convince doctors of the
advantages of generic prescribing. l33>
These advantages are clear to prescribers in countries where quality control works
efficiently. In Papua New Guinea, for example, generics are bought on competitive
tender and undergo strict quality control testing in laboratories in Australia, before
being imported into the country. One doctor in Papua New Guinea comments:
'' Perhaps the major advantage is that we are not canvassed or otherwise bothered
by reps and drug advertising. It leads to clear thinking and better prescribing to
use only generic names." (34) There are similar reports from Mozambique. |3 "

CENTRALISED PROCUREMENT
A 1979 report summarising the results of a survey of drug policies in Asia, Africa
and Latin America, instigated by the Non-AIigned Movement and other developing
countries, concluded that, "In spite of the availability of good quality drugs at much
cheaper prices, many developing countries are tied to traditional sources of supply
- namely, the transnational corporations. This is mainly due to the fear that these
companies may retaliate. There is inadequate appreciation that it is within their
power to formulate new policies, which when implemented would enable them to
reduce their imports bill by as much as 50% or more." <36)
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