Consumers’ Perception of Generic Medicines and Evaluation of In Vitro Quality Control Parameters of Locally Manufactured Paracetamol Tablets in Asmara, Eritrea: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Generic medicines are clinically equivalent and can be used interchangeably for their intended use. Globally, the usage of generic medicines is highly recommended because of their affordability and accessibility. However, consumers hold a negative perception and attitude of using generic medicine as they consider it poor and having inferior quality compared to branded medicines. This study was conducted to assess the consumers’ general view of generic medicines and in vitro evaluation of a locally produced generic medicine, paracetamol. An analytical and cross-sectional study was conducted in three selected hospitals, and in vitro quality control evaluation was done in National Drug Quality Control Laboratory between October 26 and November 21, 2017, in Asmara, Eritrea. A systematic random sampling design was employed, and the data was collected using a questionnaire and a check-list for recording the quality control parameters of paracetamol tablets. A total of 403 respondents were included in the study. The majority of the study participants were females (61.8%). Generally, about half (49.1%) of the respondents choose locally manufactured paracetamol over the imported ones. More than half (68.5%) of the respondents did not believe expensive medicines are of better quality. The main reason consumers prefer the local paracetamol (Azemol) tablet to the imported one was due to their good experience (62.1%). About three-fourths (78.1%) of the consumers also believed that medicines manufactured abroad confer higher quality. At the multivariate level, having educational backgrounds such as elementary ( AOR = 4.19 , 95% CI: 1.251, 14.035) and junior ( AOR = 2.4 , 95% CI: 1.146, 5.028) was associated with preferability to local paracetamol as a pain killer over the brand ones. The in vitro test of the local paracetamol met the standard specification for the identification test, weight variation test, pharmacopeial test, friability test, disintegration test, and dissolution test. In conclusion, the majority of the consumers considered local paracetamol as having an inferior quality when compared with brand paracetamol. However, the reality revealed that the local paracetamol was of the same quality as the brand ones. To facilitate widespread use of generic medicines, healthcare professionals should educate consumers on the advantages of these medicines.

Knowledge and perceptions of patients towards generic and local medications: The lebanese version

“…This could be attributed to the ambiguity of their decision and would signify their tendency to change positively their perceptions towards local pharmaceutical products, with some education and support from healthcare professionals. On the other hand, an earlier study conducted in Asmara, Eritrea, reported patients' negative perception about locally manufactured paracetamol and their preference towards the more expensive paracetamol brand, even though laboratory specifications of the local product met the norms (Idris et al 2021).…”

Blockchain Adoption for Generic Drugs in the Medicine Supply Chain with Consumers’ Risk-Aversion: A Game-Theoretic Model Within Chinese Legal Framework

“…Although the quality level of generic drugs is equal to that of original drugs, consumers have perception uncertainty about generic drugs’ quality because they are not aware of the manufacturing process and quality control of generic drugs. 33 , 34 When blockchain technology is used, information about generic drugs’ quality will be effectively disclosed to consumers, thereby updating their perceptions of generic drugs’ quality and changing their purchasing decisions. In this study, we investigate two cases: (1) Case N , which is the case that without blockchain adoption, the quality information of generic drugs will not be disclosed to consumers; (2) Case B , which is the case that with blockchain adoption, the quality information of generic drugs can be known to consumers.…”

“…Although generic drugs can be trusted to have the same quality as original drugs based on the FDA, consumers always have risk-aversion and quality uncertainty about generic drugs. 6 According to a cross-sectional study by Idris et al, 7 consumers often perceive generic drugs as inferior in quality compared to branded drugs. The scarcity of information on the manufacturing process and quality control of generic drugs contributes to this untrust.…”

Corrigendum to “Consumers’ Perception of Generic Medicines and Evaluation of In Vitro Quality Control Parameters of Locally Manufactured Paracetamol Tablets in Asmara, Eritrea: A Cross-Sectional Study”

“…In the article titled "Consumers' Perception of Generic Medicines and Evaluation of In Vitro Quality Control Parameters of Locally Manufactured Paracetamol Tablets in Asmara, Eritrea: A Cross-Sectional Study" [1], there were errors in Tables 3 and 5, as follows:…”

“…In the article titled “Consumers' Perception of Generic Medicines and Evaluation of In Vitro Quality Control Parameters of Locally Manufactured Paracetamol Tablets in Asmara, Eritrea: A Cross-Sectional Study” [ 1 ], there were errors in Tables 3 and 5, as follows: In Table 3 , the values included in the percentage column are incorrect due to an error introduced when transferring data from a spreadsheet to statistics software package In Table 5 , there was a typographical error in the last cell in the last row of the percentage column where 1.0657% should be corrected to 106.57% …”