Abstract
The use of generic drugs has gradually become more widespread in Japan, and is now an accepted part of health care. A generic drug is usually considerably less expensive than the brand name original. A key element in the use of a generic drug is the establishment of bio-equivalency: bio-equivalency means that the product to be evaluated has essentially the same biological availability as the original branded drug when given in the same dose. Value-added generic drugs are usually developed using innovative pharmaceutical technologies and such products allow the goal of the products being more patient-friendly to be achieved. The patient compliance is higher, the therapeutic drug concentrations are more constant, and there are fewer adverse side effects. Value-added generic drugs must meet all the requirements of bio-equivalency and have the same quality, efficacy and safety as the original drug. Drug information has a very important role in clinical pharmacy. We need more information about value-added generic drugs to resolve clinical problems. The purpose of this study was to establish a database for proper use of value-added generic drugs and to provide quick and accurate information from the database. The product name and content of the value-added generic drugs supplied by each pharmaceutical company were investigated for 107 pharmaceutical companies in Japan. A database of the value-added generic drugs was made taking into consideration additional values like on the improvement of patient convenience (oral-disintegrating tablets, miniaturization, etc.). Fifty-two of the 88 companies (collection rate 82.2%) included in a questionnaire survey reported that they were supplying value-added generic drugs. Fluticasone propionate for nebulization is one of value-added generic drugs and a useful information from the database is that the smell has been improved by menthol mixing. The treatment adherence of some patients improves with the use of value-added generic drugs.
