School of Management, Chongqing Jiaotong University, No,66 Xuefu Road, Nan'an District, Chongqing 400074, China.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2013 Oct 5;13:390. doi: 10.1186/1472-6963-13-390.
Developed countries use generic competition to contain pharmaceutical expenditure. China, as a developing and transitional country, has not yet deemed an increase in the use of generic products as important; otherwise, much effort has been made to decrease the drug prices. This paper aims to explore dynamically the price and use comparison of generic and originator drugs in China, and estimate the potential savings of patients from switching originator drugs to generics.
A typical hospital in Chongqing, China, was selected to examine the price and use comparisons of 12 cardiovascular drugs from 2006 to 2011.
The market share of the 12 generic medicines studied in this paper was 34.37% for volume and 31.33% for value in the second half of 2011. The price ratio of generic to originator drugs was between 0.34 and 0.98, and the volume price index of originators to generics was 1.63. The potential savings of patients from switching originator drugs to generics is 65%.
The market share of the generics was lowering and the weighted mean price kept increasing in face of the strict price control. Under the background of hospitals both prescribing and dispensing medicines, China's comprehensive healthcare policy makers should take measures from supply and demand sides to promote the consumption of generic medicines.
发达国家利用仿制药竞争来控制药品支出。中国作为一个发展中国家和转型国家，尚未将增加仿制药的使用视为重要目标；相反，中国在降低药品价格方面做出了很大努力。本文旨在动态探索中国仿制药和原研药的价格和使用比较，并估计患者从使用原研药转为使用仿制药的潜在节省。
选择中国重庆市的一家典型医院，考察 2006 年至 2011 年 12 种心血管药物的价格和使用比较。
本文研究的 12 种仿制药在 2011 年下半年的销售量份额为 34.37%，销售额份额为 31.33%。仿制药与原研药的价格比在 0.34 至 0.98 之间，原研药与仿制药的量价指数为 1.63。患者从使用原研药转为使用仿制药的潜在节省为 65%。
面对严格的价格控制，仿制药的市场份额不断下降，加权平均价格持续上升。在医院既配药又开处方的背景下，中国的全面医疗保健政策制定者应从供需两方面采取措施，促进仿制药的使用。
