I believe that friends who have watched "I Am Not the God of Medicine" have learned about India's generic drug industry. India, one of the world's largest suppliers of generic drugs, is also the world's largest supplier of generic drugs. Nearly 30% of the world's drug supply comes from India, making it a veritable pharmacy of the world.
According to the Prospective Industry Research Institute, the reason why India can become the "pharmacy of the world" has experienced a three-step development process: the first stage is the cancellation of pharmaceutical product patents, and only pharmaceutical process patents are granted; The second stage is to establish competitive advantages and further expand the international market through mergers and acquisitions; The third stage is to increase cross-border cooperation, increase investment in research and development, and focus on the layout of biosimilars.
In the past period, Pfizer's new coronavirus treatment drug nematevir tablets/ritonavir tablets (Paxlovid) has become a hot topic of public opinion due to its high price and difficulty in finding a drug.
It is known that Paxlovid is composed of two components, nirmatevir and ritonavir, of which the role of nematevir is to prevent the replication of the virus, and the effect of ritonavir is to inhibit the metabolism of nematevir by liver enzymes and increase the blood concentration of nematevir, thereby playing a synergistic effect. This drug is suitable for people at high risk of new crown, and timely use in the early stage of infection can effectively prevent severe disease and death, but it cannot be used to treat severe disease.
At present, Paxlovid has entered community hospitals in some cities and is prescribed by doctors. The price of medical insurance is 1890 yuan/box (a total of 30 capsules)
According to the head of the management department of the health insurance bureau, in the negotiation of the national medical insurance drug list on January 8, Pfizer's Paxlovid (Palo Wade) was not included because of the high quotation.
Faced with a shortage of antiviral drugs, many people have turned to generic Paxlovid from India, Laos and Bangladesh. Among them, India's "green box" (Primovir) and "blue and white box" (Paxista) two Paxlovid generic drugs are the most popular. As a result, the price of these generic drugs has also risen with Paxlovid's popularity. It is reported that the original price of Pfizer India generic drug equivalent to more than 400 yuan, the recent purchase price, not only higher than the original Pfizer 1890 yuan / box price, some even reached 4000 yuan, the price in half a month nearly 10 times.
Image from Kaixi blogger
But consumers should keep their eyes open and not be fooled by the so-called "imitation". What is the efficacy of generic drugs in India and other countries that are purchased at high prices? Is it possible to achieve the effect of Pfizer's original drug?
On January 2, Yin Ye, CEO of Huada Group, reminded the public on social platforms to be careful of counterfeit drugs, and expressed his willingness to help everyone test the drugs in their hands.
Yin Ye reported on social platforms that as of 22:00 on January 8, a total of 249 new crown generic drug tests had been completed. Of the samples tested, only 19 were detectable with the active ingredient Nirmatrelvir (7.6%).
But even if nimatevir is detected, it does not mean that the content of these active ingredients is accurate. Generic drugs should pass bioequivalence tests to confirm whether the dissolution curves of the generic drug components are consistent with the original drug. Generally speaking, only if the similarity of about 85% is achieved, this generic drug is qualified.
Dr. Casey, a popular science blogger who also identified the ingredients of Paxlovid's generic drugs, was anxious and angry about the test results, warning the public that Paxlovid is not a miracle drug, and that symptomatic drugs should be used; Secondly, Indian medicine is not a miracle medicine, do not blindly pursue it.
(Source: Source: Internet)