Pharmacoeconomic study of antipsychotic drugs in India

Abstract

Background: Schizophrenia is a disorder of relatively high point prevalence, low incidence and high disability. It accounts for nearly 1.5-3% of total national expenditure on health care. There is a gross variation in the cost of various branded and generic versions of antipsychotics available in India. This can lead to decreased patient compliance. The present study was undertaken to highlight this variation in the cost of various preparations of antipsychotics (branded and generic) available in India.Methods: Cost ratio and Percentage variation in cost of various antipsychotics available were calculated by standard formulae and analysed.Results: There is a very high variation in the cost of various antipsychotics available in India. The highest variation in cost ratio was seen with risperidone 2mg, 3mg and olanzapine 10mg, while the highest percentage cost variation was seen with risperidone 3mg, 4mg, 1mg; olanzapine 2.5mg, 5mg, 50mg, 100mg; levosulpiride 25mg and chlorpromazine 20mg. The lowest percentage cost variation was seen with Flupenthixol 3mg and Amisulpiride 300mg.Conclusions: There is a definite need to further strengthen the Drug Price Regulatory Mechanisms with regard to antipsychotics available in India in order to improve the patient compliance and thus cure rates of this burdensome and costly illness.

Cost minimization analysis of antimalarials in India

“…Physicians and consumers may suspect a drug to be of low quality from its low market price, non-innovator brand and the look of the product, but none of these can perfectly identify substandard and counterfeit drugs. 2 The cost variation assumes significance when the cost ratio exceeds 2 and percentage of cost variation exceeds 100. The present study reveals that there is a great variation in the prices of different formulations of antimalarials available in the Indian market.…”

“…Other factors contributing to patients non-compliance include: drug formulation, improvement of symptoms, frequent dosing, side effects of drugs, etc. 2,3 Hence prescription of good quality generic drugs which are as effective as branded drugs, would lead to improved compliance by the patient and thus lead to an improvement in the outcomes of malaria.…”

“…1 There are four basic types of pharmacoeconomic studies; cost-minimization analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-utility analysis, and cost-benefit analysis. 2,3 Cost-minimization analysis also called cost analysis measures and compares input costs and assumes outcomes to be equivalent. Thus, in the cost-minimization analysis cost of two or more alternatives is compared without regard to outcome.…”

“…However, the physicians tend to prescribe branded preparations over generic ones as they assume that the branded preparations are more superior to generic preparations of the same drug. 2 Various antimalarial drugs currently used are the aminoquinolines which include Chloroquine, Amodiaquine, Piperaquine; quinoline such as Mefloquine; cinchona https://doi.org/10.18231/j.ijcaap.2020.034 2581-5555/© 2020 Innovative Publication, All rights reserved. alkaloids which include Quinine, Quinidine; biguanide such as Proguanil; diaminopyrimidine such as Pyrimethamine.…”