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Cost-effective high-quality medications:
Generics from HEXAL

Whether the expectorant ACC® akut, Gingium®, or Lorano® — HEXAL can offer you high-quality generic drugs using approx. 300 proven active substances at favourable prices for all important types of therapy. Prescription-only or over-the-counter.

HEXAL pharmaceuticals are produced under strict quality control standards. Particular details—such as the divisibility of the tablets, the elimination of colouring agents in children’s syrups, or the practice-oriented dosage spoon—are all integrated into the constant enhancement of the pharmaceuticals.

About Generics

What is a generic?
A medicinal product with a new active substance is called an originator product or reference medicinal product. This product is at first protected by a patent. The European Parliament (Community code relating to medicinal products for human use, Directive 2001/83) defines the term “generic medicinal product” as “a medicinal product which has the same qualitative and quantitative composition in active substances and the same pharmaceutical form as the reference medicinal product, and whose bioequivalence with the reference medicinal product has been demonstrated by appropriate bioavailability studies.”

Since extensive research costs are eliminated to a certain extent, the approval for this pharmaceutical as well as its manufacture involve lower costs. For many active substances, a great number of generic medicinal products are meanwhile available besides the off-patented reference product.

Why does my pharmacist give me a generic?
As in most industrial nations around the world, the German health care system is permanently short of finances. The main reasons are: a population that is growing older and older, expensive medical progress and the government's intention to keep the health insurance contributions stable nevertheless. When prescribing medications, physicians are therefore requested to observe not only the quality and effect of the product but also its cost-effectiveness.

Are generics as good as the reference products?
Generic medicinal products correspond to the reference medicinal products in quality and effect. This must be proven by the generics manufacturer when registering the pharmaceutical, and it is confirmed by the national or European regulatory authorities. The more cost-effective generics can thus perfectly well replace the originator products.

Are HEXAL pharmaceuticals mere "imitator products?"
No. A key focus of HEXAL is the further development of the products with regard to improved dosage forms, improved release profiles and dosages with enhanced compliance. The economical "imitators" may thus very well have more to offer than the reference product.

Many generics which HEXAL has launched, or will launch in future, feature additional formulations or improvements in the development or area of application. Known substances in new formulations may constitute a substantial progress in the treatment. New and/or improved formulations which measure up to the therapy costs of the common formulations offer a chance to achieve an affordable therapeutic progress.

Are generic medications safe?
If a researching pharmaceutical company launches a new medicinal product, this product is patent-protected for about ten years. This means that the originator is granted full exclusivity. Only after expiry of this period of time, a generic-that is, a medicinal product containing the same active ingredients-may be released onto the market. Generics thus contain tried-and-tested active substances whose effect and safety are known and have been proven many times over in patient therapy.

Generics in Germany
Following the U.S.A. and Japan, Germany is the country with the world's third largest generic market share. Already about half of all medicinal products prescribed today are generics-ten years ago, it was only about 30%. Referring to the generics-capable market-i.e. the market of the off-patented medicinal products-the share was 72% last year. This means: Wherever prescribing physicians have an economical prescription alternative of the same quality as the existing pharmaceutical , they choose a generic in about three out of four times.

In 2003, the savings to the German health care system through the prescription of generics recorded over 2,800 million Euro. Generics have today become indispensable for medical care and for the functioning of the national health insurance system.

Source: Arzneiverordnungsreport 2003 (Pharmaceutical Prescription Report), Prof. Ulrich Schwabe, Dr. Dieter Paffrath, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg