Generic industry's perceptions of generic medicines policies and practices in Malaysia

Abstract

ObjectivesPost-patent entry of generic medicines has been shown to reduce overall drug expenditure and increase access to medicines. However, the implementation of pro-generic policies and practices are needed to create incentives for generic medicines production by the generic industry. This study assesses the views of the Malaysian generic drug manufacturers on existing policies and generic demand-sides practices in Malaysia. MethodsData was gathered by using a mail survey approach. The questionnaire was mailed to all the members (N = 26) of the Malaysian Organization of Pharmaceutical Industries (MOPI) licensed to manufacture prescription medicines in Malaysia. ResultsUsable response rate was 53.8% following four successive mailings. Majority of the respondents (64.3%) were dissatisfied with generic prescribing in Malaysia, while majority of the respondents (57.1%) were satisfied with generic dispensing. Fifty-percent of the respondents were dissatisfied with generic public awareness and equal proportions (21.4%) were either very dissatisfied or unsure. A majority of the respondents (69.2%) were dissatisfied with generic medicines education and information to healthcare professionals in Malaysia. The relationship between respondents' perceived level of generic public awareness and generic prescribing was positive and significant (rs = 0.59, p = 0.03). Government policies and regulations were perceived to be fairly effective in promoting generic medicines in Malaysia by 42.9% and 35.7% of the respondents respectively. A positive and significant relationship was observed between respondents' scores on government policies and regulations (rs = 0.55, p = 0.04). ConclusionsOverall, the generic industry perceived generic dispensing in Malaysia to be somewhat satisfactory. However, generic prescribing, generic public awareness and education of healthcare professionals on generics need to be enhanced to foster generic uptake in Malaysia. The generic industry expressed ambiguous perceptions on effectiveness of government policies and regulations in promoting generic medicines in Malaysia.