Are generic immunosuppressants safe and effective? Clinical experience is reassuring and regulation is strict, now we need definitive evidence

B Godman, C Baumgärtel

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)
97 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Increasing use of generic drugs is essential to maintain comprehensive and equitable healthcare, given current pressure on budgets through, for instance, ageing populations. Initiatives among health authorities to promote generic prescribing include educational initiatives (which in the United Kingdom has resulted in high levels of prescribing of international non-proprietary name (INN) drugs in over 80% of all prescriptions), compulsory generic substitution in pharmacies, and patients paying extra “out of pocket” expenses for a proprietary drug.[1-3] Concerns remain, however, about generic prescribing or compulsory substitution in certain drugs and drug classes, including lithium, theophyllines, some anti-epileptic drugs, and the immunosuppressants evaluated in the linked study by Molnar and colleagues (doi:10.1136/bmj.h3163).
Original languageEnglish
Article number350
JournalBMJ
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 22 Jun 2015

Keywords

  • immunosuppressants
  • pharmacy market
  • generic drugs

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Are generic immunosuppressants safe and effective? Clinical experience is reassuring and regulation is strict, now we need definitive evidence'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this