COST ANALYSIS OF LONG ESTABLISHED AND NEWER ORAL ANTIEPILEPTIC DRUGS AVAILABLE IN THE INDIAN MARKET

Background: Large number of pharmaceutical companies manufactures antiepileptic drugs in India. The price variations among the marketed drugs are wide. Aims: The present study was aimed to find the cost of different oral antiepileptic drugs available in Indian market as monotherapy, combination therapy and number of manufacturing companies for each, to evaluate difference in cost of different brands of same dosage of same active drug by calculating percentage variation of cost. Methods and Materials: Cost of a drug being manufactured by different companies, in the same strength and dosage forms was obtained from "Indian Drug Review" Vol. XXI, Issue No. 4, 2014 and "Current Index of Medical Specialties" July-October 2014. The difference in the maximum and minimum price of the same drug manufactured by different pharmaceutical companies and percentage variation in price was calculated. Results: The percentage price variation noted of long-established drugs was Phenytoin (50mg): 140%, Carbamazepine (100mg): 1033%, Phenobarbital (30mg) : 730%, Valproic acid (300mg) : 420%. Newer drugs -Levetiracetam (250mg): 75%, Lamotrigine (25mg): 66%, Topiramate (50mg): 108%, Zonisamide (100mg): 19%. Combination drugs - Phenobarbital + Phenytoin (30+100) mg: 354.55%. Conclusion: The percentage price variation of different brands of the same commonly used long-established oral antiepileptic drug manufactured in India is very wide. The formulation or brand of Antiepileptic drugs (AED's) should preferably not be changed since variations in bioavailability or different pharmacokinetic profiles may increase the potential for reduced effect or excessive side effects. Hence, manufacturing companies should aim to decrease the price variation while maintaining the therapeutic efficacy.