Cost analysis of oral antidepressant drugs available in India
Journal Title: National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology - Year 2015, Vol 5, Issue 5
Abstract
Background: Depression is a disorder that disrupts the public health through factors such as its occurrence, distress, ill health, and economic burden. There is a wide variation in the prices of antidepressant drugs marketed in India. Aims and Objective: To find out the price variations in the oral antidepressant drugs available in India either as a single drug or in combination and to evaluate the differences in the cost of various brands of the same oral antidepressant drug by calculating the percentage variation in cost in Indian rupees. Materials and Methods: The cost of a particular drug being manufactured by different companies, in the same strength and dosage forms, was obtained from ‘‘Current Index of Medical Specialties’’ July–October, 2014, and ‘‘Indian Drug Review, 2014;21(4)’’. The difference between the maximum and minimum prices of the same drug and the percentage variation in the prices was calculated. Result: The prices of a total of 25 drugs (21 single and 4 combination preparations) available in 66 different formulations were analyzed. In single drug therapy, among tricyclic antidepressants, reboxetine (2 mg) showed the maximum price variation of 900%. In atypical antidepressants, bupropion hydrochloride (150 mg) showed the maximum price variation of 447.94%. In selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), paroxetine (37.5 mg) showed the maximum price variation of 1116.66%. In serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), Venlafaxine hydrochloride (37.5 mg) showed the maximum price variation of 246.15%. In monoamine oxidase (MAO)-A inhibitors, moclobemide (150 mg) showed the maximum price variation of 246.15%. In combination therapies, chlordiazepoxide with amitriptyline showed the maximum price variation of 227.23%. Conclusion: The average percentage variations of different brands of the same drug manufactured in India is very wide. The management of the marketing drugs should be directed toward maximizing the therapeutic benefits to the community and minimizing the economic burden.
Authors and Affiliations
Abhinay P Paunikar, Kiran A Bhave
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP118004
- DOI 10.5455/njppp.2015.5.1105201556
- Views 104
- Downloads 0
Effect of smartphone usage on quality of sleep in medical students
Background: Like every other important invention of the technological revolution, smartphones have brought with themselves both comforts and problems. An irrational overuse of smartphones has been described as smartphone...
Drug use pattern of over-the-counter and alternative medications in pregnancy: A cross sectional descriptive study
Background: Drug treatment in pregnancy presents a special concern because of the physiological changes in the mother besides the drug effects on fetus. In addition, usage of drug available over-the-counter (OTC) medic...
Effect of premenstrual stress on reaction time of 18-20 years age group
Background: The premenstrual syndrome is a recurrent, variable cluster of trouble some ill-defined symptoms and signs that develop during the 10 days before the onset of menses and subside when menstruation occurs. There...
Effect of cigarette smoking on erythrocyte sedimentation rate and total leukocyte count
Background: Cigarette smoking is one of the major lifestyle factors which influence the health of human beings. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is a certain biomarker of inflammation. It was a significant predictor...
Insulin sensitivity index (ISI 0-120) from oral glucose tolerance test in healthy young adults
Background: Insulin sensitivity (IS) is the body’s systemic responsiveness to glucose and it is the measure of the ability of endogenous insulin to reduce the glucose in extracellular fluids by inhibition of gluconeogene...