KARACHI (PPI) - The selling of most drugs under a trade or brand names raising a controversy of variance in drug prices which produces of the same active ingredient. A generic medicine is typically 20 to 80 per cent less expensive than the brand name but the practice to sell medicine by their generic names is yet to adopted in our country. A generic name is the active ingredient of medicine for example; a drug has a formula called Aspirin. It is sold by a pharmaceutical company, Reckitt Benckiser Pakistan by the name DISPIRIN. Different Pharma companies sell the same drug with the same generic formula and give their unique names. Merck Marker sells strip of 10 capsules of generic name drug 'Doxycycline under a brand name Supramycin while Pfizer Laboratories sells same medicine of similar active ingredient under a brand title 'Vibramycin. Noticeably it also creates a price dissimilarity as same products by different drug manufacturers are sold under different brand names at different prices. Their prices for the same formula are much less than the price of the original company that started the drug or owns patent rights. The reason could be weak enforcement or implementation of quality control laws in our country, say experts. In addition, the availability of lower-priced generic medicines brings down the price of originator drugs through market competition, making even further savings to patients. The principal reason for the relatively low price of generic medicines is that competition increases among manufacturers when drugs no longer are protected by patents. Majority of pharmaceutical companies usually give preference to sell medicine under a brand name, which commonly fulfils their financial requirements. Chairman Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) Zahid Saeed said the practice of selling medicines under only generic names cannot be espoused as different manufacturers bears different sum of expenses in manufacturing purpose. There is no country in the world where drugs are being sold with its generic name he maintained. Responding to a question that if the reduction in prices could be possible if medicines are sold with generic names, he said it might not be possible in all cases. Citing an example, he said syrups, which are usually produced for children, contains 66% sugar. He said as we have seen that sugar has completely been vanished in a country, adding in this scenario how one could expect that drug prices would stay on prior rates in this vulnerable inflated situation. He said similarly the prices of all basic commodities have been increase; therefore, it would be a wring perception that prices of drugs could be reduced if sold under generic names. To a question about difference of prices in drugs made up of same active ingredient, he said there are above 400 pharmaceutical companies in Pakistan which manufacture drugs. He said when a patent period of medicine expires, though various manufacturers produce the same medicines which usually cost lower as compared to the drug which priorly manufactures under its original formula. Adding difference in rates also found owing to variance in manufacturing expenditures. We are not living in vacuum to bear loses every time, he said A highly placed source in Sindh Health Department commented on the condition of anonymity that, issues pertaining to escalating drug prices, selling of substandard drugs etc come under federal government, which has the sole responsibility to deal with the matter. He said it is difficult to pursue federal government to reduce drug rates or sell it under generic titles. We cannot amend any law provided by federal government, though we can only control or keep an eye on selling of drugs, he added. He said federal ministry can effectively deal with this matter, but holding up of the issues could not make any sense. He said provincial government cannot bring revolution in healthcare sector by imposing any public-benefiting laws, adding that this matter cannot be resolved at provincial level, as it can only be solved when higher officials of federal ministry mull over it as a matter of concern. Former General Secretary Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) Karachi Dr. Qaisar Sajjad was of the view that measure to sell drugs under its generic name should be adopted but implementation of such rule is not the sole solution to avert problems of health issues. He added that sleazing practices from health department should be ended as it would help to implement and adhere the proper laws. He suggested that medicines should only be sold by sellers when prescribed by doctors registered with PMDC, which would help to curb practice of swindling rates. Whether there is a minor or massive difference between the prices of same generic drugs of different manufacturers, though lawfully it does not allow selling medicines at overcharged rates by drug producers, as it is the subject of Federal government to fix prices of medicines at reasonable rates, as mentioned in Drug Act 1976. However, difference in prices of same generic formula drugs is against the consumer rights besides poor sector is largely affected by this.