How to Get Generic Cancer Medicines from India — Taj Pharma

Taj Pharmaceuticals
7 min readMar 11, 2019

--

1. What is Generic Medicine?
2. What are Authorized Branded Generic Drugs?
3. Why generic drugs cost less than the branded drugs?
4. Generic Anti-Cancer Medicines
5. What are Lung & Pancreatic Cancer Generic Medicine Available in India.
6. Indian Generic Tarceva [Erlotinib Hydrochloride]
7. Indian Generic Tarceva with Different Brand Name
8. How to Access generic Anti-Cancer medicines from India

What is Generic Medicine?

Generic medicines are the same exact copy of brand name drugs that cost 30–80% less than the originals. Generic drugs are equivalent to the brand name or original drug in dosage, strength, route of administration, performance, quality and intended use. The only difference between generic drug and brand name drug is in their names and the price. A generic drug must contain the same active ingredients as the original brand name drugs.

Generic drugs makers don’t face the same cost as the manufacturers so they are sold for the lower price than their branded counterparts. The brand-name makers who invented the drug already had invested in manufacturing that drug, thus generic companies induce much less cost in creating the generic drugs. Generic drugs cost less because they don’t include drug discovery and drug development.

A generic drug — in terms of dosage, safety, strength and quality — works in the same way as the brand-name drug does, therefore the intake should be the same.

Inventing or creating a drug requires more time and money that rises its overall cost. Whereas generic medicines are the copy of the brand-name and cost much lesser.

Brand VS Generic

Buy Generic Anti-Cancer: http://tajoncology.com

What are Authorized Branded Generic Drugs?

Authorised generics are sold under license from the patent holder. Authorised branded generic medicines are pharmaceutical products that are copy of inventors brand. Under New Drug Application (NDA), the brand name company prescribes the authorized generics which has been made after the brand name. The color, shape, and marking might vary as the brand name drugs but the chemical compositions and the ingredients are exactly the same.

However, there is not much difference between the brand-name drugs and generic medicines except the appearance. The dosage is same as both are made of the same compositions. Generic drugs may in:
● Shape
● Color
● Packing
● Labelling

The main concern of a patient regarding generics medicines : Is the quality and performance of the generic drug is same as that of the brand-name drugs ?
The answer is YES.

The basic requirements of generic drugs:
● Same active ingredients as that of the branded one.
● Same route of administration
● Same dosage form
● Same strength
● Same condition of usage

Why generic drugs cost less than the branded drugs?

It costs much in inventing a new drug, rising the cost of branded drugs. A manufacturer’s costs for the launch of a new branded drug include money for research and mass scale testings, advertising, marketing, and promotion. Whereas generic medicines cost lower than the branded once. Generics are cost-effective and have the same efficacy, safety and quality.

Generic medicines are available for various disease:-
● Diabetes
● Hepatitis
● Heart disease
● Kidney
● Cancer

Generic Anti-Cancer Medicines

Generic medicine of Cancer (Lung and Pancreatic Cancer) treatment are those drugs which are helpful in the treatment of cancer at lower cost. These medicines cost less than the branded ones but the results are same.

In a breakthrough that rivals the invention of generic medicine that treat Cancer, with minimal side effects and high success rates, have reached almost everywhere. But, in what must be one of the greatest tragedies of modern times, these life-saving Cancer medications are not being deployed on a mass scale. People don’t have an access to these course of brand name direct-acting medicines due to the high cost. In many countries, the brand-name Tarceva 150 mg drug costs about $18,700 to 19,000 (price subject to vary) per 30 tablets. However, the mass production of generic cancer drugs versions are available for less than 15% of the retail price of the brand-name drug.

According to the studies, the United States, Canada, Africa, Australia, Europe and Southeast Asia found the direct-acting generic drugs Erlonat (Natco) Erlocip (Cipla) etc.., as effective as it their brand-name versions.

Countries such as India, Iran, Egypt, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Brazil and Morocco manufacture Generic DAAs under the voluntary license agreement of the patent holder companies.

Erlotinib Tablets — Taj Pharma

What are Lung & Pancreatic Cancer Generic Medicine Available in India.

In India many pharmaceuticals companies of international repute that manufacture generic drugs for Cancer treatment in India. Some of the companies like Natco Pharma and Cipla which are leading names in the pharmacy world have signed a pact with Roche for manufacturing the generic versions of erlotinib medicines for the treatment of Lung and Pancreatic Cancer, chronic conditions that can prove deadly if not diagnosed and treated early. Natco and Cipla the leading manufacturer of the generic medicines like Tarceva also have the distributorship rights of these medicines in 91 developing countries of the world. The company also has the generic license of many medicines apart from Tarceva(a composition of Erlotinib Hydrochloride). Roche underwent the licensing deals with other Indian pharmaceutical companies. By these deals, all these drug manufacturers will be able to set their own versions of the price range for the generic versions of such pills and pay the royalty to Roche for the sale of such generic drugs. The price of Tarceva pill in the US is quite high.

Indian Generic Tarceva [Erlotinib Hydrochloride]

Indian generic Tarceva is composition of Erlotinib Hydrochloride in the proportions decided by the pharmacy experts. Although you get the desired effects of treatment as a patient of Cancer but it is also important for you to know the possible side effects. Some of the common side effects are:

The following Tarceva side effects are common (occurring in greater than 30%) of the patients:
● Rashes
● Diarrhea
● Poor appetite
● Fatigue
● Shortness of breath
● Cough
● Nausea and vomiting, etc

These side effects are less common(occurring in about 10–29%) of the patients:
● Infection
● Mouth sores
● Itching
● Dry skin
● Eye irritation
● Abdominal pain, etc

Some of the side effects that are rare (occurring in less than 10% of patients) are not listed here. However, you should always inform your health care provider if you experience any unusual symptoms.

Indian Generic Tarceva with Different Brand Name

Erlonat: Erlonat is one of the versions of generic Tarceva and sold under the brand name Erlonat tablets. The main active ingredients in this are Erlotinib and these are available in two strength of 100 mg and 150 mg. You can get the dosage in the bottle of 30 tablets. In India, this particular generic drug is manufactured by Natco pharma. The effective property of this particular drug is that interferes with the growth of cancer cells and slows their spread in the body and that is quite effective for the treatment of patients suffering from Cancer (Lung and Pancreatic). As per the clinical studies, there are extremely high results because of the intake of this particular generic drug when it comes to Lung and Pancreatic Cancer.

Erlocip: Erlocip is another generic drug version with the different brand name that is also used for treating Lung and Pancreatic Cancer and it is used to treat patients suffering from this chronic condition. Erlocip is a composition of Erlotinib Hydrochloride and is an anti-cancer agent. The prime impact of this generic drug is that it interferes with the growth of cancer cells and slows their spread in the body of the patient. This particular drug is sold under the brand name Erlocip manufactured by Cipla Ltd India and comes in a pack of 30 tablets. It is available in two strength of 100 mg and 150 mg. You can take this tablet with fixed dose and this has to be taken in proper consultation with the doctor.

How to Access generic Anti-Cancer medicines from India

Named patient import: In many countries government allows people to import generic drugs for a minimum of 3-month dosage for personal use with certain terms and conditions.

Several generic drugs are already approved by the US Food and Drug Administration(FDA) and the World Health Organization(WHO) and many companies are willing to export their generic medicines version in Europe and North America. Online purchase of generic medicines will take hardly 10 minutes and will benefit the buyers as the prices are falling rapidly.

India, China, Egypt and Bangladesh are exporting medicines to other countries.

Buying Generic Erlotinib from India
Lung and Pancreatic cancer patients get generic versions of anti-cancer drugs directly from India at comparatively lower prices. One such example is the Erlotinib. All the slashed prices by various companies are just below 1000 USD in India. This is a big relief for the patient who can’t afford the high price of the original Tarceva.

It is quite important to understand the Indian system as far as the purchase of generic Tarceva is concerned. These days the world is going global and getting the generic version online from India is not a tough nut to crack. Today, people from different parts of the world getting these life-saving generic anti-cancer drugs from the trusted and reliable Indian supplier that directly ship them to their doorstep.

India is one of the best countries for the affordable treatment of Cancer because the generic version is available here at a much lower prices. This is a big relief for the international patient as well. Not only that, the overall treatment for this ailment in India is world class and proper care of the patient is taken when s/he undergoing treatment. The international patients have all freedom to check the authenticity of the generic versions from the manufacturers and pharmacists in India.

--

--

Taj Pharmaceuticals

Taj Pharmaceuticals Limited manufactures and distributes medicines. The company’s products include prescription solutions, lifesaving drugs, anti-cancer drugs