Unrelated Medicines
The CDSCO of India, which is the country’s drug regulatory body, is now
adopting measures aimed at preventing the extension of the existing names of
brand names to other medicines. This move is meant to improve the safety of
patients and to bring about increased transparency in the way the brands are
named.
Brand name extensions are those cases where pharmaceutical companies
utilize the brand names of their existing products on other products whose
active components and functions are completely different from those of the
first products. Even though the practice helps the company to take advantage
of their brand recognition, health experts argue that this can cause confusion
for doctors, pharmacists, and the patients themselves.
Through this new measure that it has adopted, CDSCO wants to avoid the
creation of confusing naming systems whereby some products might get
misprescribed to the patients.
The safety of the patient continues to remain the top priority for initiating the
above regulation. The problem with confusing nomenclature arises particularly
when prescriptions are written hurriedly and confusion regarding drugs with
similar nomenclature is likely. It would help improve the safety of medications
and instill confidence in the pharmaceutical industry.
The regulation would encourage better branding by the pharmaceutical
companies as well. While there would be changes required in the product
range and marketing strategy from these manufacturers, the end result would
actually prove beneficial for the healthcare system.
Industry experts believe that implementing strict regulations on nomenclature
would bring India on par with international standards whereby the focus of
regulatory agencies is largely towards prevention of look-alike and sound-alike
drugs.
The initiatives taken by the CDSCO to regulate brand name extensions will go
a long way in making drugs safer, encouraging responsible marketing, and
ensuring patients get their medication when they need it.
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