Abstract :
Objective: To assess the cost difference of various branded and generic antimalarial drugs available in the Indian market.
Background: Malaria is a highly prevalent infectious disease in India. There are innumerable brands of antimalarials in the market with variation in the cost. The cost of treatment is an important aspect of health economics. Cost-related poor patient compliance is a significant problem resulting in incomplete treatment which tends to increase morbidity and mortality. Hence this study was done to assess the cost variation of various preparations of antimalarials (branded and generic) available in India.
Materials and Methods: The maximum and minimum price of each antimalarial drug in rupees (INR) was noted by using CIMS July to October 2018 edition, Drug Today July to October 2018, and www.1mg.com. The cost ratio and the percentage of cost variation for individual drugs were calculated and compared.
Results: There is a very high variation in the cost of various antimalarials available in India. The highest variation in cost ratio and percentage of cost variation was seen with Chloroquine 500 mg, Mefloquine 250 mg, and Sulfadoxine-Pyrimethamine 500 25 mg. The lowest cost ratio and percentage of cost variation were seen with Artesunate 120 mg injection, Arteether-Lumefantrine 20 120 mg, and Artemether 40 mg.
Conclusion: This study reveals the need to further improve the drug price regulatory mechanism concerning antimalarials available in India to improve patient compliance and thus cure rates of malaria.
Keyword :
Antimalarials, Cost minimization analysis, Cost ratio, Pharmacoeconomics, Percentage of cost variation.