Advice on medications for a heart condition: Generic or Non Generic

[RichardThailand]

My girlfriends father has a recent heart condition. His "doctor" in the Philippines has prescribed the following:

Vastarel mr 35mg

norplat s 75mg

imdur 30mg

rustor 10mg

carvedilol xicard 6.25mg

Cost for non-generic which the gf is paying for completely out of her own savings is $200 / month for the rest of his life. I suggested generic meds which she priced out as just 1/3 of the price. Doctor replied that the generics are less reliable but from my own experience some of the non-generics in PI are fake and if I had a choice I would get generic for myself.

Can anyone offer any opinions on this. Non-Generics for $200/month or Generics for 1/3 of that?

[lopburi3]

Don't believe many of us have much experience with price of drugs in Philippines but know they often speak of them as being high and this is likely due to few alternative generics being available due to limited market. If they are actually available see no reason they might not be as good as anywhere else as expect they are the same imported drugs as found elsewhere. Doctors often prefer expensive if not questioned on the need and made aware of financial means.

[AyG]

Some non-generics are fake, but so are some generics. In fact, it's far more lucrative to fake big brand names.

Generics from a reputable pharmacy would be the way to go in my opinion.

[cheeryble]

That's it.....

Ensure the pharmacy endorses that the generic actually came from one of the excellent (or maybe manufacturers whcih have been going for decades.....Indian Ranbaxy is huge for example.

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa app

Edited September 26, 2014 by cheeryble

[Sheryl]

Some non-generics are fake, but so are some generics. In fact, it's far more lucrative to fake big brand names.

Generics from a reputable pharmacy would be the way to go in my opinion.

Agree with the above.

I have no experience in the Philippines, but elsewhere in SE Asia. fakes are not a problem with locally made brands, no profit margin in it. It is limited to name brands esp. Western imports. Lot of fake french made pharmaceuticals coming out of VN and found in pharmacies in Cambodia, packaging etc looks just like the real thing. These do nto seem to make their way to Thailand (probably because of the stiff tariffs for imported meds); in Thailand, fakes are mainly aimed at the tourist market and often of drugs not legal for OTC sale (ED meds, benzos etc).

The issue with locally made brands is not fakery but rather the standard of manufacture, countries vary in how well they control this. I believe the Philippines is no bad in that regard, they do have a system in place for licensing and quality control of pharm manufacturers.

The other thing that you need to consider, especially in rural areas, is the conditions under which medications have been transported and stored. That can affect the potency of both name brands and generics.

[h90]

Some non-generics are fake, but so are some generics. In fact, it's far more lucrative to fake big brand names.

Generics from a reputable pharmacy would be the way to go in my opinion.

Agree with the above.

I have no experience in the Philippines, but elsewhere in SE Asia. fakes are not a problem with locally made brands, no profit margin in it. It is limited to name brands esp. Western imports. Lot of fake french made pharmaceuticals coming out of VN and found in pharmacies in Cambodia, packaging etc looks just like the real thing. These do nto seem to make their way to Thailand (probably because of the stiff tariffs for imported meds); in Thailand, fakes are mainly aimed at the tourist market and often of drugs not legal for OTC sale (ED meds, benzos etc).

The issue with locally made brands is not fakery but rather the standard of manufacture, countries vary in how well they control this. I believe the Philippines is no bad in that regard, they do have a system in place for licensing and quality control of pharm manufacturers.

The other thing that you need to consider, especially in rural areas, is the conditions under which medications have been transported and stored. That can affect the potency of both name brands and generics.

add to fake: biggest are like Viagra, Valium, Steroids and similar. Big exports....I think we can't imagine how big. Only need to search the darker corners of the internet.

And not only for the tourist market. I saw several elderly xxxx xxxxxx (cut out, don't want to start a racist discussion) males buying fake Viagra.