Document Type : Letter to Editor
Authors
1 Department of Clinical Pharmacy, National Children’s Medical Center, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China
2 NHC Key Laboratory of Health Technology Assessment, Department of Health Economics, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Keywords
Dear Editor,
Increased use of cheap generics could lead to significant savings in drug spending. In the United States, generics make up 90% of all drugs. More than 95% of China’s 170 000 drugs are generic. Meanwhile, there is a broad class of generic drugs called me-too drugs. More than 60% of the Essential Medicines on the World Health Organization (WHO) list are me-too drugs.1 After generics replace branded drugs, we face an impossible trinity. Impossible Trinity refers to drug policy’s difficulty in achieving three objectives (high quality, low price, and adequate supply) simultaneously.2 .... (Read more...)