EMIG urges UK Dept of Health to ditch generic substitution plans

The Ethical Medicines Industry Group (EMIG) has urged the UK Department of Health not to introduce automatic generic substitution in primary care. In a recent survey of EMIG member companies, 85% felt that Option 1 should be the preferred option1 because it is the option least likely to compromise patient safety.

Since its introduction as part of the 2009 Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) settlement, the EMIG has opposed automatic generic substitution believing it will have a detrimental impact on patients, prescribers, pharmacists and the pharmaceutical industry in the UK.

As recently as this month, the MoH has said that final decisions on whether generic substitution will be introduced in England have yet to be made, noting that it is 'open-minded' and that responses to the current consultation on whether pharmacists in England should be allowed to switch drugs prescribed by brand to generic alternatives will inform any decision (The Pharma Letter March 5).