www.ijbcp.com International Journal of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology | March 2017 | Vol 6 | Issue 3 Page 669 IJBCP International Journal of Basic & Clinical Pharmacology Print ISSN: 2319-2003 | Online ISSN: 2279-0780 Original Research Article Cost analysis of antipsychotic drugs available in India Ajay Kumar Shukla 1 *, Astha Agnihotri 2 INTRODUCTION Indian drug market has large numbers of branded formulations for every drug molecule. 1 Cost-sensitive healthcare environment has created a challenging workplace for clinicians. Efficient use of healthcare resources without compromising quality of patient care has been a challenging task for healthcare professionals. 2 Rising medical care costs is a matter of concern for patients as well as for policy makers and service providers. Every year over 100 million people are dragged into poverty due to cost of illness and medical bills. In some countries, every year 5% of the population is forced into poverty as they have pay for health services. While millions of people suffer and die due to lack of access or inability to afford medical care, many others have to suffer as they end up paying through ABSTRACT Background: Indian drug market has large numbers of branded formulations for every drug molecule. 1 Cost-sensitive healthcare environment has created a challenging workplace for clinicians. Efficient use of healthcare resources without compromising quality of patient care has been a challenging task for healthcare professionals. There is a wide range of variation in the prices of drugs marketed in India. Thus, a study was planned to analyse out cost variations of antiepileptic drugs available in Indian market. Methods: Minimum and maximum costs in Rupees (INR) of different brands of same generic antipsychotic drugs, in the same strength and dosage forms were compared. The cost ratio and percentage cost variation were calculated for each generic antipsychotic drug. The number of formulations for antipsychotic drugs and number of brands for each of them were also taken into consideration. Results: This study shows that in Indian market, there are wide variations in the prices of different brands of same generic antipsychotic drug. The highest cost ratio and percent cost variation was found for risperidone 2 mg [(1:16.27) and 1527.48], followed by risperidone 4 mg [(1:16.25) and 1525.25], risperidone 3 mg [(1:15.67) and 1467.33], risperidone 1 mg [(1:14.86) and 1386.78], olanzapine 10 mg [(1:12.36) and 1136.84], and olanzapine 5 mg [(1:12.31) and 1130.76]. Highest number of brands of antipsychotic drug available in Indian market are for divalproex sodium 500mg(25) followed by olanzapine 15 mg(23), olanzapine 5 mg(23), olanzapine 2.5mg(14), and risperidone 1 mg (14). Highest numbers of formulations of antipsychotic drug available in Indian market are for olanzapine(06), quetiapine(05), haloperidol(05), and aripiprazole(05). Conclusions: In Indian market, the average percentage price variation of different brands of the same oral antipsychotic drugs is very wide. Treatment with antipsychotic drugs usually has a long course with treatment adherence being a crucial factor for successful treatment. Improved adherence to the drug treatment can be ensured by decreasing the cost of therapy. Decreased drug cost expenditure can be ensured by changes in the government policies and regulations, integrating pharmacoeconomics as part of medical education curriculum, and creating awareness among treating physicians for switching to cost effective therapy. Keywords: Adherence, Cost analysis, Compliance, Cost variation, Health Economics DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2319-2003.ijbcp20170834 1 Department of Pharmacology, Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India 2 Private Practitioner, Cupid Multispecialty Clinic, Jawahar Chowk, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India Received: 27 December 2016 Accepted: 30 January 2017 *Correspondence to: Dr. Ajay Kumar Shukla, Email: drajay1024@gmail.com Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open- access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non- Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non- commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.