Generic drugs sold in state as good as branded ones: study

Kochi: Generic medicines sold in Kerala are not only as effective as branded drugs but cost up to 50% less, according to a Kerala study. This study is significant in Kerala where medicines, especially for chronic conditions, contribute to the largest out-of-pocket health expenses — nearly two-thirds of all household healthcare spending. If patients with chronic conditions requiring daily, lifelong medication shift to generic medicines, they can save minimum Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per year, thus ensuring that patients don’t ration or skip essential drugs altogether.

Mission for Ethics and Science in Healthcare (MESH) carried out a first-of-its-kind, citizen-funded study in Kerala between Aug 2025 and Dec 2025 and published the findings in the international journal Frontiers in Pharmacology on Wednesday. Researchers tested 131 samples of 22 essential medicines (tablets or capsules) from licensed retail outlets in Kerala — Central govt’s Jan Aushadhi outlets, Kerala Medical Services Corporation Ltd (KMSCL)’s distribution counters, private generic chains and leading brands. All of them passed every quality test — drug content, dissolution, purity and uniformity — regardless of price or brand. Central govt’s Jan Aushadhi stores were the most affordable amongst all.

“There is a persistent belief — shared by patients and doctors alike —that cheaper generic medicines are somehow inferior to expensive branded ones. But now there is firm evidence for doctors to prescribe generics with confidence and for patients, it is real money saved with no compromise on safety," said Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, the lead researcher of the study, who is famously known in social media as the LiverDoc.

However, the researchers said that despite the findings, "it would be wrong to stretch that into a blanket claim that every generic medicine, from every source, everywhere, is guaranteed safe”. "Our findings are bounded by real limitations. The study was confined to Kerala, which has strong healthcare infrastructure; samples came from legitimate retail outlets, not unregulated or informal markets; and we tested at a single point in time. Therefore, where you buy from matters as much as what you buy,” added Dr Abby.

WHO estimates that roughly one in 10 medicines in low-and middle-income countries are substandard or falsified. “There are inherent quality issues with both branded and generic medicines sold in India. Otherwise, how does one explain the irony that despite being the world’s largest provider of generic medicines, we have separate manufacturing units for drugs exported abroad and drugs sold in domestic markets. While one complies with US and European standards for drugs, the other has no such strict quality adherences thereby affecting quality of both generic and branded drugs sold here,” said pharmacologist Dr T G Ravikumar.