Generic drugs responsible for prescription growth

16 March, 2006

For the first time this decade, generic drugs accounted for all of the growth in prescriptions dispensed by Canadian pharmacies last year while brand-name medicines declined marginally, according to a survey. Data collection agency IMS Health Canada said retail prescriptions rose 3.7 per cent last year, the slowest growth since 1995.

It attributed the slowdown to, among other things, nine brand-name drugs that faced generic competition for the first time in 2005, including Pfizer Inc.'s antibiotic Zithromax and GlaxoSmithKline PLC's antidepressant Wellbutrin.

Though the good news is that increased use of generic drugs is helping to curb Canadians' prescription drug costs and the bad news is that loopholes in drug patent laws continue to force governments, employers and consumers in Canada to pay for higher-priced brand-name drugs for longer than they should.

The impact of generic competition can be dramatic as they’re equally good as compared to the branded one. Erectile dysfunction generic drugs have been able to help thousands of ED sufferers overcome the disease.


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