A Comparative Analysis of Cost and Affordability between Veterinary and Human Pharmaceutical Drugs in India

Abstract

To analyze the comparison of cost and affordability between veterinary and human drugs in India. A comparative study was conducted in two regions of Chennai based on a simple random sampling technique. Both Veterinary and human drugs were collected from private veterinary and Human drug pharmacies. Price and availability data of veterinary medicines and human medicines were collected from private sector retail pharmacies. As per the data analysis, descriptive statistics are used. The comparison of various antibiotic, anti-helminthic, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, anti-histamine, anti-tick drug prices used in humans and Animals. The variation of a single unit Amoxicillin drug for veterinary costs Rs.30 whereas in Humans, the same drug costs to Rs.18.6.Cephalexin, ciprofloxacin, Sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, clindamycin drugs showed a higher cost range in veterinary than in human drugs which had a difference of Rs.9 on average. Doxycycline, Chlorpheniramine, aspirin, Clotrimazole were the only veterinary drug cheaper than their similar human combination. The veterinary drugs are too expensive and we must take certain steps to avoid those high prices. Drug Regulation policies must be implemented for a veterinary drug similar to a human drug. Keywords: Veterinary Drugs, Human Drugs, Price, Affordability.