Objective: In recent years, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has actively promoted the use of generic drugs. However, implementation of this policy has not progressed smoothly, as information on generic drugs is poorly organized. As a result, it is difficult for pharmacists to select the appropriate generic drugs. Therefore, we attempted to develop a code system to organize information on generic drugs.
Methods: We analyzed the guidelines used for the approval of generic drugs. We then identified the important aspects for comparison of generic drugs and developed a code system. Next, we tested this code system using temocapril hydrochloride tablets, which is a generic drug.
Results: We were able to develop a code system for selection of generic drugs. Furthermore, we confirmed the utility of this code system for selecting generic drugs in the case of temocapril hydrochloride tablets.
Conclusion: We believe that this code system with be useful for pharmacists, but further development is necessary for other generic drugs.
