Generic Medicines Not for the Swiss In theory, Switzerland should be an ideal market for generic medicines. Generic medicines are drugs that have the same formula as brand-name drugs but can be produced by any drug manufacturer because Source: HandelsZeitung the formula’s patent protection has lapsed. They are just as effec- tive, but because they Well, despite carry no brand name, they are all this, less ex- pensive (at least 25% generic less). With health-care costs drugs skyrock- eting and the account for government urg- ing people to a mere use generic medi- 3.1% of cines, you’d think sales would be going total through the roof. Es- pecially drug sales since a huge company like in Novartis is producing ge- neric Switzerland (approximately drugs by the ton and last year 4.5 billion francs). Why? racked up 1.5 billion Swiss First, because many doctors francs in generic-drug sales. prefer to prescribe the original medi- cines, and pharmacists prefer to sell The Drug Market, 1996 them, for both psycho- Generic medicines logical and financial reasons. And, oddly enough, Market share within country hospitals seldom % use generic drugs, even though they could stand to do some cost-cutting. Finally, patients are skeptical of drugs that differ in colour from the ones they are used to.
Generic Medicines Not for the Swiss In theory, Switzerland should be an ideal market for generic medicines. Generic medicines are drugs that have the same formula as brand-name drugs but can be produced by any drug manufacturer because the formula’s patent protection has lapsed. They are just as effec- tive, but because they carry no brand name, they are less ex- pensive (at least 25% less). With health-care costs skyrock- eting and the government urg- ing people to use generic medi- cines, you’d think sales would be going through the roof. Es- pecially since a huge company like Novartis is producing ge- neric drugs by the ton and last year racked up 1.5 billion Swiss francs in generic-drug sales. The Drug Market, 1996 Generic medicines Market share within country % Source: HandelsZeitung Well, despite all this, generic drugs account for a mere 3.1% of total drug sales in Switzerland (approximately 4.5 billion francs). Why? First, because many doctors prefer to prescribe the original medi- cines, and pharmacists prefer to sell them, for both psycho- logical and financial reasons. And, oddly enough, hospitals seldom use generic drugs, even though they could stand to do some cost-cutting. Finally, patients are skeptical of drugs that differ in colour from the ones they are used to.