Morocco Wants to Boost Generic Drugs Manufacturing
Morocco has opted for the promotion of the manufacturing and use of generic drugs to expand health coverage from 63 pc to 90 pc by 2021 as the local pharmaceutical production enables the country to meet currently 60 of its needs.
To prepare the legal grounds for this undertaking, a draft decree has already been passed to ensure access to medication to all citizens within the frame of a comprehensive strategy seeking to close the social gap and combat poverty.
The decree sets the legal framework for bioequivalence in pharmaceuticals, defining the rules and conditions for conducting studies on both domestically produced and imported generic medications.
Moroccan health authorities have lowered lately the prices of several medications including some used to treat common chronic diseases and pin high hopes on generic medicines to widen further medical coverage to include all citizens.
Morocco’s decision to encourage generic drugs by amending local legislation will attract investment to the sector. Moroccan pharmaceuticals account for 2 pc of the country’s GDP, and this is expected to grow to 2.2 pc by 2020, according to forecasts of the Moroccan Pharmaceutical Industry Association.
The global generic drug market accounted for around $200 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach approximately $380 billion by 2021.
Although generic drugs are bioequivalent to branded drugs, they are sold at the significant discount from branded drugs prices, making them accessible to low-income patients.
But before gaining the approval from the health safety agencies, generic drugs should contain the same active ingredient as their branded counterparts; should be bioequivalent and should meet batch requirements for identity, quality, purity, and strength. they should be identical on the route of administration and dosage form and be manufactured under the same rules and regulations of manufacturing required for branded drugs.
Generic drugs manufacturing companies are capable of selling generic drugs at lower prices because they are not required to repeat costly clinical trials and pay for marketing and promotion strategies.
