Original Article

A SURVEY TO EVALUATE THE OPINIONS OF TURKISH PHYSICIANS’ ON BIOEQUIVALENCE

  • Emrah BILGENER
  • Gülbin ÖZÇELIKAY

Received Date: 18.07.2006 Accepted Date: 18.01.2007 Turk J Pharm Sci 2007;4(2):79-87

Abstract Two medicinal products are bioequivalent if they are pharmaceutically equivalent or pharmaceutical alternatives and if their bioavailability after administration in the same molar dose is similar to such degree that their effects, with respect to both efficacy and safety, will be essentially the same. The generic drug that contains the same active substance and same pharmacological activity with the original drug and approved for ‘bioequivalence’, has to possess the same level of benefit and risks of original one. These drugs should be produced in the factories that are audited with the GMP rules. In this study, the opinions of physicians, in Çorum, Turkiye, about the generic and original drugs will be reflected. For this reason, a survey of 15 questions has been practiced with 127 expert physicians and 209 practitioner (trainee) physicians. The findings of the study presented that most of the physicians do not believe in the effectiveness of generic (substitute) drugs. Also, the majority of them declared that they would not use generic drugs for themselves or their relatives. Özet Farmasötik esdeger veya farmasötik alternatif olan iki ilaç, esit dozda alindiginda hem etkililik hem de güvenlik bakimindan etkileri gerçekten ayni olacak ölçüde biyoyararlanimlari benzer ise biyoesdegedirler. Biyoesdegerligi kanitlanmis orijinal ilaçla ayni etken maddeyi içeren ve ayni farmakolojik etkiye sahip jenerik bir ilacin yarar ve riskleri orijinal ilaç ile ayni seviyede olmalidir. Söz konusu jenerik ilaçlarin, GMP kurallarina uygun olarak denetlenen tesislerde üretilmesi gerekmektedir. Bu çalismada, Türkiye de Çorum ilindeki hekimlerin orijinal ve jenerik ilaçlarla ilgili görüslerine yer verilecektir. Bu amaçla, Çorum ilinde bulunan, 127 uzman hekim ve 209 pratisyen hekime 15 soruluk anket formu uygulanmistir. Çalismanin sonuçlarina göre hekimler genel olarak jenerik (muadil) ilaçlarin etkinligine inanmamaktadirlar. Yine büyük çogunlugu jenerik ilaçlari kendilerinde veya akrabalarinda kullanmayacaklarini belirtmistir.

Keywords: Bioequivalence , Bioequivalence In Turkey, Turkish Physicians