Shinde Viraj A, Patil Ramanand, Bhandari Prasan, Borkar Prachitee, Yadav Shraddha
Department of Pharmacology, Symbiosis Medical College for Women (SMCW) , Symbiosis International (Deemed University) (SIU), Pune, IND.
Cureus. 2023 Jan 18;15(1):e33943. doi: 10.7759/cureus.33943. eCollection 2023 Jan.
Introduction Biologic drugs are used to treat various illnesses like autoimmune diseases, cancers, hormonal irregularities, anemia, etc., and to prevent various diseases as vaccines. Though various biologic drugs are already available, they are still not within reach of the common man due to financial constraints. Through many search engines, studies evaluating the cost variation of different brands of biologics were investigated; however, only a few studies that address this problem were found. Hence, this study was planned with the objective of addressing the cost variation of various brands of biologic medicines available in the Indian market. Methods The website for the Current Index of Medical Specialties (CIMS) for India's location was used to obtain the prices of the different brands of biologic medicines in Indian National Rupee (INR) currency, which different manufacturers market with identical forms in strength and dosage. The percentage cost variation and cost ratio were calculated with the help of the minimum and maximum prices of various brands of biologic drugs. Results The prices of biologics belonging to six different classes that are available in 23 formulations were analyzed. The highest cost variability was shown by pegfilgrastim 6 mg at 1,022.92%, and the minimum-cost variation was shown by darbepoetin alfa 200 mcg at 13.07%. Conclusion Our research found a vast variance in the costs of various brands of biologic medicines in India. The government should address this cost variation problem by developing various policies, such as breaking the monopoly of manufacturers, providing tax incentives to nonprofit generic medicine manufacturers, and incorporating more biologic drugs under the protection of the Drugs Prices Control Order (DPCO).
引言
生物药物用于治疗各种疾病，如自身免疫性疾病、癌症、激素失调、贫血等，还作为疫苗用于预防各种疾病。尽管已有多种生物药物可供使用，但由于经济限制，普通民众仍难以企及。通过多个搜索引擎，对评估不同品牌生物制剂成本差异的研究进行了调查；然而，仅发现少数研究涉及此问题。因此，本研究旨在解决印度市场上各种品牌生物药物的成本差异问题。
方法
利用印度地区的《医学专业当前索引》（CIMS）网站获取不同品牌生物药物以印度卢比（INR）计价的价格，这些药物由不同制造商以相同的剂型、强度和剂量销售。借助各种品牌生物药物的最低和最高价格计算成本差异百分比和成本比率。
结果
对23种制剂中属于六个不同类别的生物药物价格进行了分析。培非格司亭6毫克的成本变异性最高，为1,022.92%，而达贝泊汀α200微克的成本变异性最低，为13.07%。
结论
我们的研究发现印度各种品牌生物药物的成本存在巨大差异。政府应通过制定各种政策来解决这一成本差异问题，例如打破制造商的垄断、为非营利性仿制药制造商提供税收激励，以及将更多生物药物纳入《药品价格控制令》（DPCO）的保护范围。
