title: Understanding and perceptions of final-year Doctor of Pharmacy students about generic medicines in Karachi, Pakistan: a quantitative insight.
abstract: To evaluate the understanding and perceptions of generic medicines among final-year Doctor of Pharmacy students in Karachi, Pakistan.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 23-item survey instrument that included a question on the bioequivalence limits and Likert-type scale questions regarding the understanding and perceptions of generic medicines among the students was executed. Cronbach's alpha was found to be 0.62.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Responses were obtained from 236 final-year Doctor of Pharmacy students (n=85 from a publicly funded institute; n=151 from a privately funded institute). When comparing a brand-name medicine to a generic medicine, pharmacy students scored poorly on bioequivalence limits. More than 80% of the students incorrectly answered that all the products that are rated as generic equivalents are therapeutically equivalent to each other (P<0.04). Half of the students agreed that a generic medicine is bioequivalent to the brand-name medicine (P<0.001). With regard to quality, effectiveness, and safety, more than 75% of the students disagreed that generic medicines are of inferior quality and are less effective than brand-name medicines (P<0.001). More than 50% of the students disagreed that generic medicines produce more side effects than brand-name medicines (P<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The current study identified a positive perception toward generic medicines but also gaps in the understanding of generic medicines. Pharmacy students lacked a thorough understanding of the concepts of bioequivalence. Pharmacy academia should address these issues, which will help build confidence in generic medicines and increase the generic medicine use in Pakistan.
authors.affiliation: Pharmacy Practice, Kulliyyah of Pharmacy, International Islamic University Malaysia, Kuantan Campus, Pahang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Shazia Qasim
authors.initials: SQ
authors.lastname: Jamshed
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
authors.forename: Mohamad Izham Mohamad
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Social and Administrative Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Penang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Mohamad Azmi
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Hassali
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy, University of Basra, Basra, Iraq.
authors.forename: Adheed Khalid
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Sharrad
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Social and Administrative Pharmacy, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Penang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Asrul Akmal
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Shafie
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Zaheer-Ud-Din
authors.initials: ZU
authors.lastname: Babar
keywords: curriculum; efficacy; safety