Special Issue "Generic Drugs"

Guest Editor
Andrew Nathan Wilner, MD
111 Durfee Street, P.O. Box 831, Fall River, MA 02722, USA
Website: http://www.drwilner.org/
E-Mail:

Dear Colleagues,

The pressure to contain health care costs has propelled the prescribing of generic drugs and the practice of generic substitution. For people with epilepsy, for example, the switch from brand to generic, generic to generic, or generic to brand may come with the risks of adverse events and breakthrough seizures, although the magnitude of these risks and the vulnerable populations remain undefined. Frequent anecdotal reports from patients and physicians are echoed in survey data regarding the lack of bioeffectiveness of generic epilepsy drugs, despite FDA mandated “bioequivalence.” Claims data suggest that epilepsy patients who take generic drugs have an increased use of health care resources such as emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and other medications, challenging the argument that generic drugs are “cost effective.” The purpose of this special issue is to assess the current status of generic drugs with respect to effectiveness, tolerability, safety, and quality of life in the treatment of epilepsy and other diseases, and to help guide policy development and physicians in the care of their patients.

Dr. Andrew Nathan Wilner
Guest Editor

Submission

All manuscripts should be submitted to pharmaceuticals@mdpi.org with a copy to the Guest Editor. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceuticals is an international peer-reviewed Open Access monthly journal published by MDPI.

• adverse events
• antiepileptic drugs
• bioequivalence
• brand
• substitution
• breakthrough seizures
• cost effective
• epilepsy
• generic drugs
• generic substitution
• therapeutic range

Type of Paper: Review
Title: Continuing Reforms Surrounding Generics: A Necessity for all Key Stakeholders in Europe?
Authors: B. Godman, B Wettermark, L Gustafsson and A Haycox; E-Mail: briangodman@btinternet.com (B.G.)
Abstract: Healthcare reforms are accelerating across Europe to maintain comprehensive and equitable healthcare. This includes funding increased drug volumes due to aging populations and stricter clinical management standards as well as funding new more expensive but innovative drugs.
A number of the reforms centre on generics. This includes initiatives to lower their prices together with the prices of originators and interchangeable products in a class. Alongside this, initiatives to enhance the prescribing of generics first line where pertinent.
This article will discuss the range of reforms that have been instigated, their impact and potential future direction to guide countries as they seek further initiatives as well as pharmaceutical companies planning for the future. The benefits of these initiatives for all key stakeholder groups including innovative pharmaceutical companies will also be discussed.