Generic drugmakers may have been lauded for making drugs affordable, across the world. But its not time to rest on laurels of the past, and they now need to work on improving access to their medicines, says a report from the Netherlands-based Access to Medicine Foundation.

The inaugural report from the Foundation’s generics and biosimilars programme analysed five major generic companies - Cipla, Hikma, Sun Pharma, Teva and Viatris -on efforts to expand access to their products in low and middle income countries (LMIC). The companies were chosen for their size, influence and involvement in global health, the report said.

Generic companies need to outline access strategies to ensure their medicines reach the people who need it, across several regions, said Jayasree K Iyer, Chief Executive Officer with Access to Medicine Foundation. Some companies did participate in the tendering systems, but patients still pay out-of-pocket in several countries and tend to get left out, she said, calling for systems to track if patients did indeed get the medicines.

Though generic companies had a large regulatory footprint in LMICs, often companies did not register medicines in several markets, for reasons including the expense involved or the paying ability in the region, Iyer told businessline, ahead of the report’s launch in Mumbai, Tuesday.

Outlining other measures to improve access and tailor products for the intended patients, she pointed to “adaptive research” - where products are designed for paediatric consumption; or with simpler dosing regimens, or heat-stable features (not requiring refrigeration), for example. “Generic companies get involved way too late in a product to be able to serve patients,” she said, urging them to get involved at the design stage to improve access measures.

Vocal on quality

The Foundation’s report comes against the backdrop of the cough-syrup controversy that linked deaths of children in Gambia, for example, possibly to products made in India.

Companies need to build quality into their products and be vocal about measures they had taken, Iyer said. The cough syrup controversy had dented confidence in generic products from the local industry, she added.

But generic and biosimilar medicines serve as lifelines to millions. Of the medicines classified as “essential” by the World Health Organization (WHO), 90 percent are off patent, including treatments for cancers, heart disease, epilepsy, diabetes, maternal haemorrhage, bacterial infection, tuberculosis, malaria and HIV, the report noted.

Given their significance, the report suggests, generic companies can also help bolster manufacturing in LMICs, and ensure products got closer to patients. Companies could work with local partners on production and help build buffers for a constant supply, said Iyer, countering the view in some sections of industry that regionalisation would erode the benefits of exporting from a low-cost manufacturing base.

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