Finding an affordable cure

Focus should be on supply of genuine generic drugs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has hinted at bringing in a new law requiring doctors to prescribe generic medicines in place of costly branded ones. Mr Modi said patients were on most occasions completely unaware of what they were being prescribed and ended up paying exorbitant prices for drugs that were available at much lower price points. A generic drug is a duplicate of a drug whose patent has expired. Branded generics often add some tweaks to charge much higher prices. By forcing doctors to prescribe only the generic salt, Mr Modi hopes patients will have the option of buying a