Generic medicines, an alternative to rising prices

Winter is one of the seasons in which the risk of respiratory diseases increases, so the need for vitamins, antibiotics or anti-flu is stronger, however being healthy will be up to 160% more expensive this year, warned Óscar Zavala Martínez, president of the National Interdisciplinary Union of Pharmacies, Clinics and Clinics (Unifacc).

We observe an increase in the cost of medicines between 10 and 15 monthly, if we make an annual accumulated we could expect an increase of 160% for December, -this is caused by the world crisis, the increase in fuels and inflation-, factors that have triggered a permanent increase in the cost of medicines in Mexico”, commented Óscar Zavala Martínez.

Zavala explained that the rise in drug prices, linked to the drug crisis facing the federal government, has exacerbated the problem among Mexican families, mainly those with diabetic or hypertensive patients, since their health spending has increased to 3,600 pesos per month.

“The average expense of a hypertensive or diabetic patient is 3,600 pesos per month, this represents a brutal impact on your pocket in such a way that currently a patient spends 52% of his monthly income on medications, so how much is left to spend? in food or clothing: It is worrying, more so for those who have a minimum wage, since 3,000 pesos is equivalent to just over half of their income”, he commented.

Cutting health spending is high risk

Given the rise in drug prices and the loss of purchasing power, Mexicans implement different measures to reduce health spending. According to Unifacc, among the actions is the purchase of natural products or herbal remedies as the main method of care and not as an alternative to medical treatment.

“What Mexican consumers are doing is looking for herbal remedies, during 2022 the sale of these products increased 86%, since they are more accessible. This is very worrying because it increases the risk of secondary reactions due to poor treatment, but users they are too worn out and faced with less purchasing power, they look for alternatives”, commented Óscar Zavala.

At the same time, users have increased the searches and purchase of medicines online in search of better prices, however, the Unifacc warned that buying online increases the risk of falling into the sale of fake or expired medicines, for this reason they advised users to desist from purchasing through digital channels or, where appropriate, opt only for authorized stores and distributors.

The scenario for the following year does not sound encouraging either, according to Unifacc they do not foresee a decrease in prices, however in an optimistic scenario it is expected that the rate at which drugs have become more expensive will achieve a slowdown and maximum increases in prices will be consolidated. 80% per year.

Generic medicine an alternative

Although the rise in the cost of medicines is widespread, generic medicines reflect an alternative to reduce the cost of treatments and reduce the risk of exposing health when buying counterfeit or expired drugs.

According to the National Union of Pharmacy Entrepreneurs (Unefarma), in contrast to patent medicines, generics have only suffered a rise of 5% in national medicines and 8% in transnationals, so they are 80% below the price of other medicines.

“The generic medicine is 80% cheaper than the patent one, Mexican families can resort to this option that has nothing wrong with it, because they have a regulation and a quality registry that helps to meet standards,” said Juvenal Becerra Orozco , president of Unefarma.

Orozco acknowledged that despite the regulations there are currently a large number of pharmacies and Internet sites which sell generic drugs, but many work outside the law, so there is a high possibility of buying counterfeit or expired drugs.

In this regard, the experts recommended reviewing the different establishments where medicines are purchased and identifying the health license, the notice of operation and the notice of the health officer by Cofepris, since it is a first security lock to acquire regulated drugs.

joselyn.ugarte@eleconomista.mx