PETALING JAYA: It is up to private pharmacies to decide if they want to sell generic medicines or innovator drugs, says Malaysian Pharmacists Society (MPS) president Professor Amrahi Buang.
He said this depended on their respective business models and practices.
“It depends on the pharmacy, whether they want to sell generic or branded, or the originator.
“For example, community pharmacies, they are independent, so it depends on their practice,” he added.
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Noting that there is no one-size-fits-all, Prof Amrahi said it was up to the consumer to choose their preference.
A community pharmacist, who requested anonymity, said she stocked both generic medicines and innovators at her pharmacy.
“There are some consumers who still prefer branded drugs over generic drugs, and they are willing to pay more,” she said.
“Some of them are too used to innovator drugs and they still ask for them. That is why we have both types for certain drugs.”
Asked whether locally produced generics could be more costly than branded ones, she said that in her experience, it was quite rare.
She explained that having both generic and originator drugs ensured that there was no supply disruption.
“When branded drugs are not available, the generics are there.
“They work just the same.
“But since we are not subjected to cost-saving measures, we try to stock both as and when it is possible,” she added.
