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Large pharmaceutical companies deliberately and purposefully sow doubts about the effectiveness of generics, even though it has been confirmed both officially by the market regulator and practically by doctors who prescribe these drugs. As experts recently stated, in fact, large pharmaceutical companies intimidate consumers, forcing them to buy more expensive drugs. A trip to the pharmacy can significantly empty your wallet. Of course, you shouldn’t save on your health, but there are proven cheap analogues that are not inferior in therapeutic effect.
Such drugs are also supported by the fact that large pharmaceutical companies deliberately and deliberately try to sow doubt about their effectiveness. Meanwhile, this effectiveness has been confirmed both officially (by the market regulator) and practically - by doctors prescribing these drugs. In fact, large pharmaceutical companies are intimidating consumers into buying more expensive drugs. We have compiled a list of 16 analogues of expensive drugs - their effectiveness has been tested, including through our personal experience.
Required Items
Dressing
What you need to have:
- cotton wool, sterile bandage, gauze pads, which may be needed to apply a bandage for wounds, cuts and bruises;
- plasters – medical for fixing the bandage and bactericidal for applying to abrasions and cuts;
- elastic bandage – for fixing a limb during sprains and dislocations.
Before treating the wound and applying a bandage, be sure to disinfect your hands with an antiseptic solution (such as chlorhexedine).
Medical devices
Increases in temperature and jumps in A/D also occur in healthy people. Therefore, a thermometer and tonometer should be included in the list of necessary items for the first aid kit.
Is it cheaper for you or for it to help: are all analogues of drugs equally useful?
Few people know, but now doctors must write in the prescription not the name of the medicine, but its active ingredient. It turns out that a person has a difficult task - to independently determine which drug he will buy.
And here the desire to save money and the fear of buying a medicine that will not work come into play.
Failed generics can only make things worse
In the middle of last year, a scandal occurred in Bashkiria. As part of import substitution, as well as budget savings, the Ministry of Health decided to abandon original drugs for the treatment of many rare diseases, in particular secondary pulmonary hypertension.
They stopped giving out expensive imported drugs for free, and instead offered a domestic generic. But patients began to experience complications from taking it.
The first to sound the alarm was 27-year-old Ilya Borshchuk. The generic did not help, but gave complications: the blood vessels could not withstand the harsh effects of the drug and burst. Ilya tried to “stretch out” the course of taking the original drug. But when it ended, the young man was again forced to return to generics. Alas, they could not help Ilya - he died.
“If a drug is intended for intensive therapy, then its quality is of particular importance,” says Galina Iksanova,
. – Sometimes a drug that is not effective enough does not bring the patient out of an emergency condition. The patient dies, but not from the drug itself, but because there was no help from the drug.
Who saves on what?
Pharmaceutical companies spend huge amounts of money on developing a new drug—on average, about $1 billion. Before entering the market, the drug undergoes numerous studies for safety and effectiveness. When patent protection for a drug is terminated, other companies have the right to produce and sell drugs with the same active ingredient under a different name.
Of course, the generic contains the same active ingredient as the original drug. However, it is not possible to repeat the cleaning cycle completely. As a result, impurities appear in the generic drug, which increase its toxicity. But the medicine consists of more than just the active substance. This means that companies save on auxiliary components, eliminating some or replacing them with cheaper ones.
As a result, the drug is not only less effective and bioavailable, but may also cause more side effects.
“Of course, it’s better to purchase the original drug,” Galina Iksanova is sure. – Its composition is the most harmonious. Everything in the original preparation is thought out; there is not a single unnecessary detail. Technologists have developed a composition that works as efficiently as possible.
There are high-quality generics
Naturally, due to different production cycles, generic manufacturers cannot use clinical studies of original drugs. In addition, in Russia the requirements for generics have been simplified. They must only have physical and chemical properties similar to the original, that is, prove pharmaceutical equivalence.
However, therapeutic equivalence is also important, when the ultimate goal of the original and the generic is as close as possible (for example, antimicrobial effect, antifungal effect, lowering blood pressure, etc.).
A high-quality generic is one that has undergone additional research and proven its therapeutic equivalence. But you will have to pay at least half the cost of the original drug for it.
– In fact, unlike Western countries, in Russia there is no clear understanding of how to distinguish between generics. The only thing you should pay attention to is the company's reputation. Generic products from companies that have been working on the market for a long time and are trying to keep up their face in order to retain customers certainly cannot be of poor quality, comments Galina Iksanova.
Pharmacists trust the following: Gedeon Richter, EGIS, Akrikhin, Obolenskoye, Vertex. Most of their generics are considered to be of good quality. Naturally, they will be somewhat cheaper than the originals, because manufacturers do not spend money on additional research, but they try to maintain the quality of the substance.
But even a high-quality generic is inferior to the original drug
Any medicine has instructions for use, which indicate the dose of the active substance. For example, 125 mg or 500 mg. In the original drug, the dose is strictly observed. There may be deviations in generics.
For example, Pfizer conducted comparative therapeutic studies of the original drug Diflucan with eight generics. It turned out that non-original drugs are 2-4 times less effective. That is, in order for them to start working, the dose needs to be increased.
How do you know which drugs work?
Pharmacy chain managers must formulate principles for working with drug manufacturers based on the effectiveness of the drugs and the benefit to the patient, and not just on commercial benefits.
For comments, we turned to the general director of the largest pharmacy chain in Bashkortostan, “Pharmland,” Adela Kalmetyeva
.
– Most Russians believe that medicines should cost less than a loaf of bread. But at the same time, for some reason our roads are not filled with cheap Chinese cars, because when choosing a car, people are guided by a different principle - the more expensive, the safer and more reliable. This popular misconception about medicines is exploited by unscrupulous discount pharmacies, which, unfortunately, are filled with ineffective, low-quality drugs. One day I decided to make a test purchase and purchased chamomile flowers from a competing Ufa pharmacy. Comparing it with the one in our assortment, I was horrified. Instead of crushed flowers there was dust and something like sand. An infusion of this mixture caused nausea. Now imagine how bad low-quality medicines can do.
I will reveal another terrible secret of the world of pharmacy. Discount pharmacies will until the last minute offer you ineffective cheap analogues, because the markup on them is higher. Plus, you'll have to come back again because the medicine just didn't work. Therefore, a pharmacy visitor should first of all think about what is more important – money saved or health. And trust only reliable pharmacies that are time-tested and will never allow ineffective drugs into their range. And I urge my business colleagues to at least think about the fact that in our hands is not only the honor of the pharmacist profession, but also the lives of people.
Good medicine can't be cheap
Manufacturers of generic drugs can set their own price for the drug, but there cannot be significant differences in cost, since they cannot save on the components of the drug. Therefore, if the original costs 1,000 rubles, and a copy costs 300, this is a reason to think about where the money was saved.
Having bought a cheap drug and not getting any effect, many accuse the doctor of incompetence and unprofessionalism, failing to mention that an analogue was used for treatment. Meanwhile, the doctor was guided by treatment regimens developed for the original drugs.
Tables of replacing the original drug with a cheap one often appear on the Internet. This is a fundamentally wrong call for self-medication. The drug should be chosen by a specialist, because the human body is a complex mechanism, and experimenting with cheap analogues can be too expensive.
So is it worth the risk and buying cheap drugs whose manufacturers skimped on research and released the drug at random?
List of required medications
The list of a home first aid kit for the whole family includes universal products that are suitable for both adults and children. If you or a family member has any chronic illness, be sure to include medications prescribed by your doctor.
Also, the approximate list of necessary medications in a home medicine cabinet includes the following medications.
For colds
Among these medications there should be only drugs for symptomatic treatment, that is, those drugs that, for example, can lower the temperature or relieve a sore throat. Everything else is prescribed by the doctor.
Medicines that should be in your home medicine cabinet:
- drugs that relieve cold symptoms (TeraFlu, Coldrex);
- vasoconstrictor nasal drops (Rinonorm, Nazivin, Ximelin);
- remedies for sore throat with antiseptics (Strepsils, Ingalipt);
- antipyretics (Paracetamol, Ibuprofen).
It is not recommended to use Aspirin to reduce fever, especially for children and people with stomach diseases.
Since there is no cure for the common cold, it all comes down to symptomatic treatment.
Painkillers
- for headaches – Citramon, Nurofen;
- for spastic abdominal pain - No-shpa, Drotaverine (use with extreme caution, since abdominal pain can signal a serious illness);
- for heart pain - Validol, Nitroglycerin.
If abdominal pain occurs suddenly, but you can wait until the doctor arrives, it is better not to take painkillers. Taking them may make diagnosis difficult.
Antihistamines
These tablets must be present in your home medicine cabinet. They are used not only for allergic reactions. They also help relieve swelling of the mucous membranes during colds. Antihistamines in the form of ointments relieve itching and swelling from insect bites. Even modern drugs (Tavegil, Suprastin, Zyrtec, Zodak) can cause drowsiness and have different dosages for children and adults.
Be sure to keep medications out of the reach of children.
Sorbents
These are drugs that are indispensable for poisoning (Enterosgel, Polysorb PM, white coal). The most accessible remedy is activated carbon. But for it to help, you need to take it correctly: one tablet per 10 kg of weight. That is, with a weight of 60 kg you need to use 6 tablets at one time. Some experts believe that activated carbon has extremely poor effectiveness and its use is absolutely ineffective even in large dosages.
Sedatives
Valerian tincture, Novo-Passit, Glycine will help relieve nervous tension, eliminate anxiety, and improve the process of falling asleep.
Remedies for burns
A burn is one of the most dangerous injuries, which is very difficult to heal. Panthenol in spray form should definitely be on the list of essential medications in your home medicine cabinet. It copes well with minor burns and helps to wait for the doctor to arrive if qualified medical assistance is required.
For treating wounds and stopping bleeding
To stop minor bleeding, use 3% hydrogen peroxide.
To treat a small wound, it is not necessary to use iodine or brilliant green, which dry out the skin and leave marks. Chlorhexidine is an excellent antiseptic that can be used to disinfect wounds and surfaces, and even treat the mucous membrane for a sore throat (use with caution).
Let's continue our list. What should be in a home medicine cabinet besides medications?
Injuries are the most common type of illness.
Russian analogues of imported drugs: an adequate replacement?
Best articles of 2015
They say there are no simple times. But how little consolation this is when you are faced with a total rise in price for everything! The basis of today's home economy is saving. We constantly have to look for “something similar, but cheaper.” Are such replacements correct and how can you avoid oxygen deficiency when trying to tighten your belts?
"Disservice" of the Internet
The most popular and almost bottomless storehouse of information is, of course, the Internet. We fearlessly plunge into the World Wide Web, naively believing that the mind will help distinguish lies from truth. But, alas, this is not always the case.
Millions of Russian citizens, in an effort to save money, study lists of domestic analogues of expensive imported drugs that flood the Internet. Tomorrow they will go to the pharmacy and with undisguised pleasure will buy a cheap domestic “substitute” instead of the original drug. And then the story can have a different continuation, and it depends on the anonymous person with an unknown education who posted the information, and on His Majesty Chance.
Behind this careless trust lies an invisible tragedy. When I, a pharmacist with many years of experience, open such a “list of substitutes,” I can hardly contain my emotions. Unnamed authors strongly advise replacing the Mercedes with a VAZ, arguing that domestic cars also have four wheels. And sometimes they offer a scooter with the sauce of a car!
My pharmaceutical consciousness is boiling, having noticed several pairs of completely different drugs in the list of “analogues”. For example, miramistin is not chlorhexidine, and ersefuril has only one relationship to furazolidone: both drugs belong to the nitrofuran group.
And this is just a drop in the sea. Moreover, even replacements that are quite correct at first glance may be far from harmless.
Original drug and analogue
An original medicine is a drug that was first synthesized by the manufacturer. By buying an original, or, as pharmacists often say, a brand drug, we pay for many years of development of the drug substance, for clinical trials of drugs, for registration, and so on. The manufacturer includes all these huge costs in the price, so original drugs are a priori much more expensive than generics (from the English generic), or analogues.
Manufacturers of analogues only synthesize the substance according to a well-known algorithm, prepare a dosage form from it and package it. Their costs are minimal, and this has the most favorable effect on the price of the final product. Ideally, analogues should correspond to the brand drug in all respects, including effectiveness. But in reality?
Cholesterol-lowering drugs
Statins are a group of drugs designed to reduce cholesterol levels in the blood. The action of statins is based on blocking the formation of cholesterol in the liver, which reduces its level in the blood, since all the cholesterol in the body is produced there, and does not come from food. The cholesterol that we eat is only material for the synthesis of our own.
- Rosuvastatin – Crestor (Rosucard, Rozulip, Tevastor)
Prescribed to patients at high risk of stroke and heart attack. Taking Rosuvastatin depends on the level of lipids in the blood and is in a standard dosage of 5 to 10 mg per day.
- Atorvastatin – Liprimar (Tulip, Torvacard, Atoris)
Atorvastatin is a very effective drug with minimal side effects. Suitable for long-term use.
