Japanese Rxs allowing generics now 5.7%

In Japan, only 5.7% of total prescriptions, which enable a physician to check in "an approval column" for generic substitution available, actually made the doctor change brand products to copy drugs, according to a survey to verify the impact on the medical fee revision for fiscal 2006, which was released at the last Chuikyo (the Central Social Insurance Medical Council) meeting.

The usage situation of generic drugs at 635 pharmacies among 1,000 health insurance pharmacies (response rate: 63.5%) was surveyed from October 1 through October 31, 2006, across the nation. "Signed" by a physician in the approved column accounted for 17.1% or 165,402 of 969,365 prescriptions in total. "No signature" in the column accounted for 82.9%, or 803,963.