State proposals try to prohibit automatic generics replacement

WASHINGTON Brand pharmaceutical companies are taking their war with their generic counterparts to the state level, by promoting proposals that would prohibit pharmacists from automatically replacing certain brand-name drugs with generic alternatives, according to the Baltimore Sun.

The legislation being pushed at the state level would make the exchange more difficult by requiring pharmacists to inform doctors or get their permission before substituting a generic version of a brand-name drug.

Measures favorable to the brand companies have been considered by 27 states and approved by two—Utah and Tennessee—over the past year, according to the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, which opposes the changes.

While some proposals apply to any kind of prescription drug, most take aim at particular classes of medicines, such as drugs to suppress a patient's immune system after a transplant or to curb epileptic seizures.