Are generic drugs as good as branded?

A citizen-funded quality study of commonly prescribed medicines has found no difference in quality between expensive branded drugs and the far cheaper generics, including govt-supplied medicines, even as prices of some top brands can be as much as 14 times higher for the same drug, said the news report in the Times of India recently.

The findings come from the Citizens Generic vs Branded Drugs Quality Project by Kerala-based non-profit Mission for Ethics and Science in Healthcare (MESH), which tested 131 samples of 22 widely used medicines for heart disease, diabetes, liver disorders, infections, pain, acidity, allergies and thyroid conditions.

The project was led by Cyriac Abby Philips, popularly known as The Liver Doc, who flagged how fear and mistrust of cheaper medicines—rather than evidence—often push patients to abandon treatment, with serious health consequences.

The study covered top branded drugs, branded generics sold by large pharmaceutical companies, trade or local generics and govt medicines supplied under the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP). All samples were purchased from pharmacies as ordinary patients do.

Testing was conducted at a laboratory accredited by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) and US Food and Drug Administration, across five Indian Pharmacopoeia parameters: drug content, dissolution, uniformity, impurities and physical appearance. All generics met prescribed quality standards and performed on a par with branded medicines. What stood out was the price gap. The average price per tablet of branded medicines was 11.17, compared with 2.40 for Jan Aushadhi drugs, with several trade generics also being significantly cheaper. For medicines such as pantoprazole, atorvastatin and rifaximin, branded versions cost five to 14 times more than the cheapest qualitytested alternatives.

Indians incur 62–69% of their healthcare expenditure on medicines alone, and doctors say high prices often lead to missed doses, irregular intake or treatment discontinuation, especially for chronic illnesses. Senior clinicians like Dr Mathew S P said the findings mirror everyday practice.

Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, senior consultant in internal medicine at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, said lower cost medicines, including Jan Aushadhi drugs, meet Indian Pharmacopoeia standards and are likely to work as intended. While doctors are comfortable prescribing such options to cost-constrained patients, he cautioned that regular monitoring is essential and flagged practical issues such as inconsistent availability, limited dose options, packaging and patient familiarity. Wider availability and assurance of batch-to batch consistency, he said, would support wider use of such medicines.

Echoing this, Dr Sandeep Kharb, senior consultant in endocrinology at Asian Hospital, said the results confirm what clinicians routinely see—that patients do just as well on affordable versions of medicines such as metformin, amlodipine and levothyroxine as on expensive brands.

He added that rigorous testing in accredited laboratories addresses most quality concerns and that affordability is crucial for long-term adherence to treatment. The study’s authors argue the issue is not price control but transparency and trust.

In the absence of accessible quality data, doctors and patients often rely on brand perception rather than evidence—at considerable financial and health cost.

Unfortunately, the recent raids by the US FDA showed that there are many factories in India churning out substandard drugs and cough syrups, hence the rigorous quality control applied by branded companies are essential to ensure that the drugs are reliable.