Generic drugs could provide budget-friendly relief

PETALING JAYA: Consumers should consider relying on generic drugs for over-the-counter (OTC) medicines rather than proprietary or branded ones to cushion the rising prices of medication, says the Malaysian Association of Pharmaceutical Suppliers (MAPS).

“To further off-set rising prices of medication, they could also wait or group-buy when there are product promotions in retail outlets,” MAPS executive director Dr Choe Tong Seng said when contacted yesterday.

He said several global factors such as raw materials, currency exchange rates, logistics and supply chain disruption had contributed to the rise in prices of OTC medication in recent times.

“As such, local manufacturers, which are dependent on imported raw materials, are not immune to price fluctuation as well,” he said.

However, he cautioned consumers against purchasing medication online without proper verification.

“All OTC products in the country are approved by the Health Ministry and are safe.

“A word of caution: do not purchase online unless you recognise the manufacturers and are confident that their products are registered with the ministry,” he added.

Dr Choe suggested that the government exempt or exclude pharmaceutical products from the coming increase in the service tax, particularly affecting the logistics sector.

“This should be considered so as not to compound the rakyat’s financial burden.

“This is particularly true for the elderly who may be prescribed with a number of drugs due to their comorbidities.

“Pharmaceuticals are essential products and once prescribed, patients have no other choice but to follow the prescriptions faithfully,” he said.

Based on the United Nations global trade data, Malaysia imported pharmaceutical products valued at about US$2.21bil in 2022.

According to the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (Mida), the major local pharmaceutical companies involved mainly in generic drugs, particularly antibiotics, painkillers, health supplements and injectables include Pharmaniaga Manufacturing Bhd, Duopharma Biotech Bhd, Kotra Pharma (M) Sdn Bhd and Hovid Bhd.

A pharmacist, who wanted to be known only as Christine, 39, said there had been a gradual increase in prices of OTC medication over the past several months, which is likely to rise further this year.

“The rise in prices is due to several factors and there is worry that prices are likely to go up again this year due to an increase in logistics cost,” she said when met at a pharmacy in Petaling Jaya yesterday.

Christine said the increase would be more on imported branded drugs than locally-manufactured or generic ones.

“We have some customers who spend more than a RM1,000 on prescription medication a month, not including supplements,” she said.

Christine noted that some customers might switch to purchasing generic drugs and locally-manufactured medication, which might be between 20% and 30% cheaper compared to the imported branded drugs.

“The impact won’t be felt as much for those in the high-income group because they can afford to continue purchasing their branded medication, which they are more familiar with.

“It is those in the lower and middle-income group that will feel the pinch,” she added.