A Cost Analysis of Antimicrobial Drugs Sold in the Jan Aushadhi Generic Drug Stores in India

Abstract Background: Antimicrobial medications, which are critical for the treatment of infectious diseases, can be prohibitively expensive, especially for the marginalized population. The objective of the present research was to determine cost-minimization analysis (CMA) by comparing Jan Aushadhi (JA) pharmaceuticals marketed in India with the most expensive and least expensive branded alternatives. Materials and Methods: Prices of the most expensive, least expensive branded, and JA medications were obtained from the designated reference sites. The cost difference (CD), cost ratio (CR), and percentage of cost variation (PCV) were calculated in accordance with the guidelines of the cost-minimization study. Results: The cost analysis included 132 drugs/formulations of antimicrobials used as anthelminthic, anti-TB, antibiotic, antifungal, antimalarial, antiprotozoal, antiseptic, and antiviral drugs. Among the antihelminthic medicines, the most expensive albendazole brand was 18.2 times more expensive than JA. The combined formulation of albendazole and ivermectin had a PCV of 67.3% between the costliest and cheapest brands and 280.3% between the costliest and JA brands. Three antitubercular drugs were examined, and the cost variance was low for all medications in the category, with a PCV of 23.5% to 92.6%. Among the 102 antibiotics examined, cefoperazone brand with a PCV of 1497.8 was 16 times pricier than JA. The costliest ciprofloxacin brand cost 11.9 times more than JA. Five antifungals were examined, and itraconazole from JA was 7.8 times cheaper than branded. Among the six antimalarial drugs, artesunate cost 10.1 times more than JA when compared to the more expensive brand. The costliest antiviral drug sofosbuvir cost 4.9 times more than JA. The final analysis suggests that antibiotics had the highest, while antivirals and antiprotozoals had more consistent CD values. Conclusion: The cost-minimization study, which is the first in this field of infectious diseases, indicates the usefulness of JA drugs in reducing financial costs for the patient.