18 September 2020, Cagayan de Oro City – The month of September is known as the Generics Awareness Month. This celebration aims to spread awareness about generic drugs that provide safe, effective, and low-cost quality medicine. The said celebration aims to promote and ensure the distribution, use, and acceptance of drugs and medicines identified by their generic name.

The Republic Act No. 6675 or the Generics Act of 1988, mandates to ensure that affordable and effective drugs are made available to all Filipinos. While this observance is seemingly for informational or awareness purposes only, the Cheaper Medicines Act of 2008 amended parts of the Generics Act and has now required pharmaceutical companies to produce, distribute, and make widely available generic drugs. 

The law aims to supply and promote low-cost quality medicines as alternatives to the widely consumed but more expensive origin of branded drugs by requiring physicians to include in their prescription both the generic and brand names of the drug.

Under the Republic Act No. 6675 or the Generics Act of 1988, physicians, dentists, and veterinarians are required to indicate the generic names of all drugs prescribed. Whether through a personal prescription pad or a doctor’s order sheet in the hospital chart. It is required that generic names of all drugs must be written first before their brand names which might be optional and will be placed in parenthesis.

For violation of this act, the professional may be suspended or his/her license may be cancelled to operate or a recommendation of suspension of license to practice the profession may be endorsed to the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).

Generic medicines and brand-name medicines have the same active ingredients, dosage form, effectiveness, safety, strength, route of administration, quality, and performance. But they will vary with it comes from their physical appearance. Allowable differences in size, shape, and color do not impact how medications work. Generic medicines may look different than the brand-name version they duplicate, but they are as safe and effective.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), they ensure that the generic drugs undergo a rigorous review process to receive FDA approval. The FDA guarantees that a generic medication has the same clinical benefit and as safe and effective as the brand-name medicines that it duplicates. Also, the FDA requires pharmaceutical companies to demonstrate that generic medicine can be effective as alternatives and provide an equal clinical benefit as the brand-name medicines that it copies.

Factors positively associated with generics drugs use are:

• Having a public primary care provider
• Procuring drugs from government health centers
• Positive attitudes towards generics
• Perceived self-efficacy in choosing generics

Factors negatively associated with generics drugs use are:

• Older age
• Negative attitudes towards generics
• Higher education level

More people tend to doubt the quality and effectiveness of the medicine if it’s not branded. Also, they assume that if the medicines are cheaper, these are not of good quality and less effective.

Actually, generic medicines are cheaper not because they are of low quality, but because the manufacturers did not have the money to invest in the research, development, marketing, and promotion of the medicines.

On the contrary, manufacturers of branded medicines had the expenses to invest in the research and development of the formulation of the medicine, and in its promotion and marketing. Generic medicines are cheaper because they only copied the formulation of branded medicines.

In relation to this celebration of Generics Awareness Month to nutrition is that most people, taking medication is a regular part of their daily routine, and these medicines rely upon to treat illnesses/diseases and improve health. Although medicines can make you feel better and help you get well, it is important to know that all medicines, both prescription and over-the-counter drugs can cause long-term side effects in the long run of taking medication and through this observance about generic drugs, most people have the advantage to buy medicines with low-cost and allow them to use it without the knowledge of the medicine for some people.

That is why it is important to take good care of our body by maintaining a healthy eating lifestyle, good consumption of fruits and vegetables, and proper exercise or any physical activity to have a healthy body and to prevent us from any illnesses or health problems. Also, having good nutrition means your body gets all the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals you need for the proper functioning of the body.

So, let’s correct this misconception about generic medication that they are less effective and are not safe, because generic medicine is created to be the same as the branded medicine but has the significant advantage of low-cost quality medicine. (PHA John Paul D. Navarro, RPh)

References:

Philippine Food and Drug Administration. Republic Act No. 6675 or the Generics Act of 1988. Retrieved 18 September 2020 from https://ww2.fda.gov.ph/attachments/article/29035/Generics%20Act%20of%201988.pdf

Medicine Net. Generic Drugs, Are They as Good as Brand Names?. Retrieved 20 September 2020 from
https://www.medicinenet.com/generic_drugs_are_they_as_good_as_brand-names/views.htm

Research Gate. Factors affecting use of generics drugs in the Philippines. Retrieved 21 September from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320858169_Factors_affecting_use_of_generics_drugs_in_the_Philippines

The Filipino Doctor. Health Care Article on Generics Medicine Awareness. Retrieved 21 September 2020 from
https://www.thefilipinodoctor.com/health-care/health-articles/521/

Tufts Health Plan. The Importance of Good Nutrition. Retrieved 23 September 2020 from
https://www.tuftsmedicarepreferred.org/healthy-living/expert-knowledge/importance-good-nutrition