After a drug gets approved for sale in the outer market, the Pharmaceutical company gets gold of an exclusive right to manufacture more of its kind. They are free to utilize this right for a period of about five to seven years. This exclusive right is guaranteed by the head of the health board, which allows the drug manufacturing company the free space to market the specific drug.
Most of the new drugs are protected with patents. These patents last for about twenty years from the day of the discovery of its first molecular structure during clinical testing. In other words, it can be said that, on average, a drug gets about twelve to fourteen years of free-market exclusivity. This period of market exclusiveness opens up the door for the companies to get a proper return for the initial investment.
This usually fills in the gap between the initial investment or the phase of incurring losses and the profit earnings phase. Once this exclusive period is over, the other drug manufacturing companies can go in for approvals of their version of the same product. However, the active ingredient is kept same in all the versions to ensure the treatment works.
This active ingredient plays a vital role because this chemical substance helps in smoothly carrying the effects of medication. Once these generic drugs seek entry into the competitive market, they have a lower price compared to branded drugs. This is because these generic companies do not look for profits. Instead, they create competition in the market. The rise of options like generic medicines opens up the gateway for getting cheap medicine in India.
How Much Effective Are These Medicines?
It can be said that they are quite similar to the medicines of its kind sold under brand names. The active ingredient for all of these medicines is the same. However, a mild change in the inactive ingredients is often observed. Change of the inactive ingredients does not affect the chemical stability of the drug and, thus, is equally useful.
The cheap medicines in India are approved by the Central Food and Drug Administration. They check the medicine for safety, purity, and effectiveness before approving it for the sake of the market. As the manufacturing companies of generic medicines are not interested in collecting huge profits, the cost of the medicines is kept comparatively lower.
Advantages of Buying Generic and cheap Medicines
The most crucial point which results in the growing demand for these medicines is the cost. People can easily get hold of cheap medicines in India due to these options. As per reports, the cost of the generic medicines is about eighty-five percent less compared to the drug sold under brand names. These low-cost generic drugs are brought in the market mostly for the lower segment of the society. As the cost is low, people are more likely to take the essential medicines as prescribed by the doctors.
Having such a high poverty rate, cheap medicines in India are like a boon, which allows people from every sector to get proper treatment.