Generic drug mandate faces challenges: Fitch

New Delhi: The government guidelines mandating physicians prescribe only generic drug names face execution challenges and are unlikely to impact profitability of pharmaceutical companies in the domestic market, Fitch Ratings said on Thursday.

The domestic pharmaceutical market is mainly a branded generics market, in which pharma companies sell off-patented drugs under their own brand names with varying prices, Fitch said in a statement. A sizeable erosion in branded generics sales share could affect Indian pharma companies’ profitability, as sharply lower average prices will outweigh potential benefits from lower marketing costs, it said.