BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF RESEARCH: Nigeria’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) was setup to secure universal access to affordable quality care. However, after 11yrs, and despite launching different programs, NHIS coverage is still less than 3% nationally, and out-of-pocket payments (OOP) remain the major health financing mechanism. The reasons for the low level of enrollment in NHIS are not well understood. Quality of care may be a factor in enrolment. This study compares technical and perceived quality of care between NHIS enrollees and the uninsured, using diabetes as a tracer condition. It also compares OOP and generic prescription patterns by health insurance enrollment status. METHODS: We conducted a cross sectional clinic-based intercept study. Subjects were adult diabetes patients recruited from 10 NHIS accredited hospitals in Abuja, Nigeria. Data collection included survey and chart review, covering technical aspects of quality – performance of eye and feet exam and HbA1c request; perception of quality, generic medication prescribing pattern and OOP. We performed logistic regression analysis to evaluate the effect of NHIS enrollment status on the technical quality of care, perceived quality of care, generic prescribing and OOP. RESULTS: Out of 455 participants, 149 (33%) were NHIS enrollees, 10 (2%) were enrolled in private health insurance and 296 (65%) had no insurance. After adjusting for correlated data and controlling for facility, BMI, chronic disease score, age, sex, and education, patients under NHIS coverage were 0.85 times less likely to have eye exam (Cl=0.4–1.8), 0.98 times less likely to have feet exam (Cl= 0.4–2.2), and 0.98 times less likely to have A1c test requested (Cl= 0.7–1.3), compared to those without insurance. These findings were not statistically significant at alpha=0.05. On the other hand, compared to the uninsured, NHIS covered patients perceived care to be worse even though they spent significantly less, 56% (Cl=45%–69%) in OOP in public hospitals. DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Perception of care quality under the NHIS could be a contributory factor to the reluctance of prospective enrollees. To advance towards the goal of universal health coverage, NHIS must strengthen policy to overcome identified barriers such as medication stock outs and wait times at the facility level.

"Mémoire présenté à la Faculté des études supérieures en vue de l'obtention du grade de maîtrise en droit". Ce mémoire a été accepté à l'unanimité et classé parmi les 10% des mémoires de la discipline. / Les provinces canadiennes sont présentement aux prises avec des dépenses élevées en matière de médicaments. Afin de contrôler ces dépenses, plusieurs d'entre elles ont adopté différentes politiques visant à promouvoir et à accélérer la vente de médicaments génériques, lesquels sont équivalents aux médicaments novateurs mais de trente à quarante pourcents moins chers. Le gouvernement canadien, en vertu de son pouvoir de réglementation en matière de brevets, pourrait contribuer aux efforts des gouvernements provinciaux en assouplissant les règles relatives aux brevets pharmaceutiques pour ainsi promouvoir l'accélération de la mise en marché de médicaments génériques. Le gouvernement hésite toutefois à le faire en raison de sa politique en matière de brevets pharmaceutiques dont les effets se veulent équilibrés tant pour l'industrie pharmaceutique novatrice que pour l'industrie du médicament generique. Précisément, cette politique vise, d'une part, à encourager les investissements en recherche et développement par l'industrie novatrice et, d'autre part, à garantir la vente rapide de médicaments génériques au Canada pour que soient contrôlées les dépenses en matière de médicaments. Ce mémoire consiste en un examen du cadre juridique de la politique canadienne en matière de brevets pharmaceutiques. Nous y soulevons et analysons particulièrement ses glissements, quant à l'objectif d'équilibre recherché de la politique canadienne, qui résultent de son application dans le contexte juridique, politique, scientifique et économique actuel. Notre intention est de démontrer que, dans l'intérêt des Canadiens à court et à long terme, la politique canadienne en matière de brevets pharmaceutiques ne doit pas être assouplie en faveur de l'industrie du médicament générique seulement, ceci malgré la croissance des dépenses en matière de médicaments. En effet, l'intérêt des Canadiens ne peut être maximisé que si cette politique est rééquilibrée en tenant compte de l'ensemble de ses glissements juridiques observés. / All Canadian provinces are presently facing increasingly growing drug expenditures. In order to control these expenditures the provinces have adopted different policies to promote and accelerate the sale of generic drugs, these drugs being equivalent to brand-name drugs but thirty to fourthly percent less expensive. Considering its jurisdiction in the field of patents, the Canadian government could contribute to the efforts of the provincial governments in making more flexible the Canadian patent rules, thus promoting the marketing ofgeneric drugs in Canada. The government is however hesitating to do so because of its policy on pharmaceutical patents, which policy aims at balancing the interests of both the brand-name and generic drug industries. Effectively, the purpose ofthe poltey is to promote, on the one hand, the investments in research and development of new drugs in Canada and, on the other hand, to guarantee the rapid marketing of generic drugs, thus controlling drug expenditures. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the judicial framework of the Canadian policy on pharmaceutical patents. Its weaknesses, with regard to the balanced objective of the policy, resulting from its application in the present judicial, political, and economical and scientific context are the focus of this analysis. Our goal is to demonstrate that, to reach the Canadian social benefit, both in the short and long run, the Canadian policy on pharmaceutical patents should not be relaxed for the sole benefit of the generic drug industry, although the drug expenditures are growing. Rather, the social Canadian benefit would only be maximised by re-balancing the Canadian policy in the light of all its demonstrated weaknesses.

O interesse pelos estudos de bioequivalência iniciou-se na década de 60, sendo o FDA (EUA) a primeira agência reguladora a se interessar por esta questão. No Brasil, uma lei de 1999 regulamentou o medicamento genérico no país, sendo este um importante meio de acesso aos medicamentos pela população e fazendo parte da política de medicamentos do SUS. No Brasil, a ANVISA e responsável por inspecionar os centros de bioequivalência bem como dar as diretrizes para estes. Um modelo paramétrico padrão para a etapa estatística e disponibilizado para a decisão de bioequivalência media e espera-se que este ajuste-se aos dados obtidos nos estudos de bioequivalência, o que nem sempre acontece. Neste sentido, e proposto nesta tese o uso de modelos paramétricos mais abrangentes baseados em outras distribuições de probabilidade para a decisão de bioequivalência media e que possam modelar a assimetria dos dados, dispensando o uso da transformação logarítmica para os parâmetros farmacocinéticos o que afeta a amplitude dos limites de bioequivalência. Propõe-se também o uso de modelos bivariados para a tomada conjunta da decisão de bioequivalência media, quando são analisados simultaneamente dois parâmetros farmacocinéticos. Foram utilizados métodos Bayesianos para a estimação dos parâmetros dado a exibilidade deste enfoque quando combinado ao uso dos métodos MCMC facilitados a partir do uso de softwares livres. Nesta tese e apresentado um estudo do poder empírico dos testes de hipóteses para os modelos univariados propostos bem como são introduzidos quatro exemplos, sendo os três primeiros voltados a aplicação da decisão de bioequivalência media e o quarto para a aplicação da bioequivalência populacional e individual. Nos três primeiros exemplos foram observados ganhos em termos de ajuste dos novos modelos propostos aos dados com relação ao modelo padrão segundo os critérios de seleção de modelos utilizados. O exemplo quatro apresenta uma analise padrão de bioequivalência populacional e individual com o código computacional para a obtenção dos resultados disponível no apêndice A bem como outros códigos para os demais exemplos. Embora a padroniza- ção das análises estatísticas para os estudos de bioequivalência seja importante, não deve-se esperar que um modelo padrão ajuste-se a qualquer conjunto de dados originados destes tipo de estudos. Neste sentido, são apresentados alternativas que podem auxiliar o pesquisador na tomada de uma decisão em termos de bioequivalência media mais segura. / The interest in bioequivalence studies began in the early 1960s especially in the United States of America where the FDA was the rst regulatory agency to show interest upon this issue. In Brazil, this interest started in 1999 the year when a law regulated the generic drugs in the country. The ANVISA is the Brazilian regulatory agency responsible for inspecting the bioequivalence centers and giving guidelines for this issue. In general, a standard parametric model for the statistical step is indicated for the average bioequivalence decision and this model is expected to be tted by the data obtained in the bioequivalence studies. In some cases, this model would not be appropriate. In this way, this thesis proposes the use of more comprehensive parametric models based on other probability distributions for the average bioequivalence decision and that can model asymmetrical data, a common situation in bioequivalence studies. In addition, there is no need of a logarithmic transformation for the pharmacokinetic parameters which could aect the range of the bioequivalence limits. We also propose the use of parametrical bivariate models for the joint decision of the average bioequivalence decision, since these measures are usually analyzed simultaneously with two pharmacokinetic parameters. We use Bayesian methods to estimate the parameters, given the great exibility of this approach when combined with the use of MCMC methods using free available softwares. This thesis also presents a study of the empirical power of hypothesis testing for the proposed univariate models and four examples are introduced. In the examples one, two and three we apply the average bioequivalence decision and in the fourth example we consider for the implementation of population and individual bioequivalence. In the examples one, two and three were observed gains in the tting of the proposed new models for the data where some existing approaches were used in the selection criteria for the proposed models. Example four provides a standard analysis of population and individual bioequivalence with the computer code for obtaining the results available in the Appendix A, as well as other codes. Although the standardization of statistical analysis for bioequivalence studies is important, a standard model is not expected to be well tted to any data set originated by such studies. In this way, we present alternatives that can help researchers in making a decision in terms of average bioequivalence with more security.

O interesse pelos estudos de bioequivalência iniciou-se na década de 60, sendo o FDA (EUA) a primeira agência reguladora a se interessar por esta questão. No Brasil, uma lei de 1999 regulamentou o medicamento genérico no país, sendo este um importante meio de acesso aos medicamentos pela população e fazendo parte da política de medicamentos do SUS. No Brasil, a ANVISA e responsável por inspecionar os centros de bioequivalência bem como dar as diretrizes para estes. Um modelo paramétrico padrão para a etapa estatística e disponibilizado para a decisão de bioequivalência media e espera-se que este ajuste-se aos dados obtidos nos estudos de bioequivalência, o que nem sempre acontece. Neste sentido, e proposto nesta tese o uso de modelos paramétricos mais abrangentes baseados em outras distribuições de probabilidade para a decisão de bioequivalência media e que possam modelar a assimetria dos dados, dispensando o uso da transformação logarítmica para os parâmetros farmacocinéticos o que afeta a amplitude dos limites de bioequivalência. Propõe-se também o uso de modelos bivariados para a tomada conjunta da decisão de bioequivalência media, quando são analisados simultaneamente dois parâmetros farmacocinéticos. Foram utilizados métodos Bayesianos para a estimação dos parâmetros dado a exibilidade deste enfoque quando combinado ao uso dos métodos MCMC facilitados a partir do uso de softwares livres. Nesta tese e apresentado um estudo do poder empírico dos testes de hipóteses para os modelos univariados propostos bem como são introduzidos quatro exemplos, sendo os três primeiros voltados a aplicação da decisão de bioequivalência media e o quarto para a aplicação da bioequivalência populacional e individual. Nos três primeiros exemplos foram observados ganhos em termos de ajuste dos novos modelos propostos aos dados com relação ao modelo padrão segundo os critérios de seleção de modelos utilizados. O exemplo quatro apresenta uma analise padrão de bioequivalência populacional e individual com o código computacional para a obtenção dos resultados disponível no apêndice A bem como outros códigos para os demais exemplos. Embora a padroniza- ção das análises estatísticas para os estudos de bioequivalência seja importante, não deve-se esperar que um modelo padrão ajuste-se a qualquer conjunto de dados originados destes tipo de estudos. Neste sentido, são apresentados alternativas que podem auxiliar o pesquisador na tomada de uma decisão em termos de bioequivalência media mais segura. / The interest in bioequivalence studies began in the early 1960s especially in the United States of America where the FDA was the rst regulatory agency to show interest upon this issue. In Brazil, this interest started in 1999 the year when a law regulated the generic drugs in the country. The ANVISA is the Brazilian regulatory agency responsible for inspecting the bioequivalence centers and giving guidelines for this issue. In general, a standard parametric model for the statistical step is indicated for the average bioequivalence decision and this model is expected to be tted by the data obtained in the bioequivalence studies. In some cases, this model would not be appropriate. In this way, this thesis proposes the use of more comprehensive parametric models based on other probability distributions for the average bioequivalence decision and that can model asymmetrical data, a common situation in bioequivalence studies. In addition, there is no need of a logarithmic transformation for the pharmacokinetic parameters which could aect the range of the bioequivalence limits. We also propose the use of parametrical bivariate models for the joint decision of the average bioequivalence decision, since these measures are usually analyzed simultaneously with two pharmacokinetic parameters. We use Bayesian methods to estimate the parameters, given the great exibility of this approach when combined with the use of MCMC methods using free available softwares. This thesis also presents a study of the empirical power of hypothesis testing for the proposed univariate models and four examples are introduced. In the examples one, two and three we apply the average bioequivalence decision and in the fourth example we consider for the implementation of population and individual bioequivalence. In the examples one, two and three were observed gains in the tting of the proposed new models for the data where some existing approaches were used in the selection criteria for the proposed models. Example four provides a standard analysis of population and individual bioequivalence with the computer code for obtaining the results available in the Appendix A, as well as other codes. Although the standardization of statistical analysis for bioequivalence studies is important, a standard model is not expected to be well tted to any data set originated by such studies. In this way, we present alternatives that can help researchers in making a decision in terms of average bioequivalence with more security.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-27T14:22:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 GEORGES HAJJAR JUNIOR.pdf: 4730574 bytes, checksum: bc9316bfa4ed9b01bcdabd07250194aa (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-04-20 / This paper work was developed with the aim to build up a project management model used by a pharmaceutical industry to supervise the new products launching process (generic drugs) into the Brazilian generic market. This study has the purpose not only to present techniques and methods, that make possible better controls of the development process of a new generic, that will be introduced into the market, but that can be also used as a planned basis, implementation, control and evaluation of the process as a whole. The theoretical basis used in this research is the Project Management theory of the Project Management Institute PMI. The model has been done considering time, cost and project risks. The results obtained by this study indicate that the theoretical model can be used to improve significantly the managing controls of the new generic medications development of pharmaceutical industry. / Este trabalho teve como objetivo construir um modelo de gerência de projetos para o lançamento de novos produtos na indústria farmacêutica de medicamentos genéricos. O foco da pesquisa voltou-se ao desenvolvimento de técnicas e ferramentas de trabalho que possibilitam um maior controle sobre o processo de desenvolvimento de um novo produto a ser lançado no mercado e sirvam como base para planejamento, implantação, controle e avaliação do processo como um todo, fornecendo uma visão geral do trabalho. A base teórica utilizada para a realização deste trabalho foi a teoria de gestão de projetos do Project Management Institute PMI. O modelo foi construído focando prazo, custo e riscos do projeto. Os resultados obtidos mostram que o modelo teórico aplicado pode ser usado para melhorar os controles da gerência dos projetos de desenvolvimento de novos medicamentos genéricos.

Les provinces canadiennes sont présentement aux prises avec des dépenses élevées en matière de médicaments. Afin de contrôler ces dépenses, plusieurs d'entre elles ont adopté différentes politiques visant à promouvoir et à accélérer la vente de médicaments génériques, lesquels sont équivalents aux médicaments novateurs mais de trente à quarante pourcents moins chers. Le gouvernement canadien, en vertu de son pouvoir de réglementation en matière de brevets, pourrait contribuer aux efforts des gouvernements provinciaux en assouplissant les règles relatives aux brevets pharmaceutiques pour ainsi promouvoir l'accélération de la mise en marché de médicaments génériques. Le gouvernement hésite toutefois à le faire en raison de sa politique en matière de brevets pharmaceutiques dont les effets se veulent équilibrés tant pour l'industrie pharmaceutique novatrice que pour l'industrie du médicament generique. Précisément, cette politique vise, d'une part, à encourager les investissements en recherche et développement par l'industrie novatrice et, d'autre part, à garantir la vente rapide de médicaments génériques au Canada pour que soient contrôlées les dépenses en matière de médicaments. Ce mémoire consiste en un examen du cadre juridique de la politique canadienne en matière de brevets pharmaceutiques. Nous y soulevons et analysons particulièrement ses glissements, quant à l'objectif d'équilibre recherché de la politique canadienne, qui résultent de son application dans le contexte juridique, politique, scientifique et économique actuel. Notre intention est de démontrer que, dans l'intérêt des Canadiens à court et à long terme, la politique canadienne en matière de brevets pharmaceutiques ne doit pas être assouplie en faveur de l'industrie du médicament générique seulement, ceci malgré la croissance des dépenses en matière de médicaments. En effet, l'intérêt des Canadiens ne peut être maximisé que si cette politique est rééquilibrée en tenant compte de l'ensemble de ses glissements juridiques observés. / All Canadian provinces are presently facing increasingly growing drug expenditures. In order to control these expenditures the provinces have adopted different policies to promote and accelerate the sale of generic drugs, these drugs being equivalent to brand-name drugs but thirty to fourthly percent less expensive. Considering its jurisdiction in the field of patents, the Canadian government could contribute to the efforts of the provincial governments in making more flexible the Canadian patent rules, thus promoting the marketing ofgeneric drugs in Canada. The government is however hesitating to do so because of its policy on pharmaceutical patents, which policy aims at balancing the interests of both the brand-name and generic drug industries. Effectively, the purpose ofthe poltey is to promote, on the one hand, the investments in research and development of new drugs in Canada and, on the other hand, to guarantee the rapid marketing of generic drugs, thus controlling drug expenditures. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the judicial framework of the Canadian policy on pharmaceutical patents. Its weaknesses, with regard to the balanced objective of the policy, resulting from its application in the present judicial, political, and economical and scientific context are the focus of this analysis. Our goal is to demonstrate that, to reach the Canadian social benefit, both in the short and long run, the Canadian policy on pharmaceutical patents should not be relaxed for the sole benefit of the generic drug industry, although the drug expenditures are growing. Rather, the social Canadian benefit would only be maximised by re-balancing the Canadian policy in the light of all its demonstrated weaknesses. / "Mémoire présenté à la Faculté des études supérieures en vue de l'obtention du grade de maîtrise en droit". Ce mémoire a été accepté à l'unanimité et classé parmi les 10% des mémoires de la discipline.

p. 1-104 / Submitted by Santiago Fabio (fabio.ssantiago@hotmail.com) on 2013-03-06T20:06:34Z No. of bitstreams: 1 wwww14.pdf: 1450489 bytes, checksum: ae0e213bd3a56fc00ceab3623f52cb06 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Tatiana Lima(tatianasl@ufba.br) on 2013-03-14T18:32:28Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 wwww14.pdf: 1450489 bytes, checksum: ae0e213bd3a56fc00ceab3623f52cb06 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-03-14T18:32:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 wwww14.pdf: 1450489 bytes, checksum: ae0e213bd3a56fc00ceab3623f52cb06 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / A preocupação em encontrar alternativas que reduzissem os custos de saúde pública e que, ao mesmo tempo, favorecessem o acesso da população em geral à medicamentos levaram – dentre outros fatores – o Governo Brasileiro a adotar uma política de medicamentos genéricos, institucionalizada oficialmente em 1999 através da Lei 9.787. O Governo, ao lançar os genéricos, apoiou esta categoria sob duas bases: medicamento de qualidade garantida e preço baixo. Mas, se por um lado, o argumento de “preço baixo” funciona como um trunfo comercial para os medicamentos genéricos, por outro, a ausência de uma marca de produto pode dificultar a relação de confiança do consumidor acerca do produto. Portando, a “qualidade” só seria observada pelo consumidor em um processo de composição de representações sociais positivas. O processo de composição de representações sociais positivas para um produto é processo fundamental para a sua aceitação social e sucesso, principalmente no caso de medicamentos cujo efeito é ligado diretamente à saúde humana. Com base nisso, o objetivo deste trabalho é verificar quais as representações sociais elaboradas pelos consumidores da cidade do Salvador sobre os medicamentos genéricos, com a finalidade de ajudar a compreender como elas orientam o comportamento do consumidor local no processo de aquisição deste novo produto. / Salvador

Medicines play a pivotal role in the process of human development as their rational utilization can decrease morbidity and mortality as well as improve quality of life (Jamshed, Hassali, Ibrahim, Shafie, & Babar, 2010). Access to therapeutic drugs form an integral part of any successful healthcare system. The high cost of medicines, is a barrier to accessibility and improved health to the majority of the South African population (Bangalee, 2015). In developing countries with limited healthcare budgets, such as South Africa, generic drugs (medicines) can be a cost-saving treatment alternative, resulting in medical expenditure being reduced and access to scarce resources increased (Van der Westhuizen, Burger, Lubbe, Serfontein, 2010). There is very little knowledge on perception and attitude of South African citizens with regard to use of generic drugs (Bangalee, 2015). Consumer perception can have a large impact on the choice of medicines or drugs chosen. The study intended to find out what the current consumer beliefs, attitudes, behaviours and knowledge of generic drugs are. There was also intent to establish if lack of awareness or misconception about generic drugs influence consumer choice. The study consists of a literature review of the definition of generic drugs and original or branded drugs, their influence in the public and private health sector, factors that influence consumer behaviour, brand effect, brand trust, brand loyalty, and most importantly the South Africa acceptance of generic drugs. Primary data was collected, reported and analysed through the use of a questionnaire to determine the current consumers’ belief, attitude, behaviour and knowledge of generic drugs. The study results reveal that scepticism does exists, yet there was clear acceptance, but still lack of confidence in generic drugs. Consumer education and information is the key to increased generic drug acceptance.

Aging population is becoming the potential social and economic problem for many governments all around the world. These countries including Taiwan are seeking for solutions for the increased healthcare spending. According to the United Nations’ population estimates, we are living in a rapidly aging world. The global share of what we call “senior” or people age over 65 is expected to rise from nearly 8% in 2015 to more than 14% by 2050. The situation in Taiwan is not much different. With increasing life expectancy and a birth rate that continues to decline, the aging population in Taiwan has become more and more obvious. Widespread adoption of Generic and Biosimilar drugs, as opposed to patented or brand name drugs, could help governments reduce healthcare costs and increase the reach of healthcare services. Patented drugs in the prescription drugs segment account for about 70% of total prescription spending in Taiwan. However, the share is set to decline gradually under pressure from government policies promoting the use of generic products and the increasing switches from prescription segment to OTC segment (RX-to-OTC). We expect the penetration of generic drugs in Taiwan OTC drugs segment to increase as the generic drug market has continued to gain prominence within the pharmaceutical sectors in recent years. Despite the fact that OTC generic drug market is a highly competitive market in Taiwan, Genedex Co. still aims to provide good quality generic drugs at a competitive price to meet the generic drugs demands. In addition, Genedex Co. understands the ability to quickly bring new products to the market will play a large role in the future success. Thus, product innovation and differentiation will also be the center focus in the business model. Looking into the future, Genedex Co. expects to see growth at a more rapid pace starting from year 2020 as newly developed generic OTC drugs will be introduced to the market to compete with the branded counterparts and also expects to achieve a more solid presence in the market by year 2021.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-03T18:33:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Silvia_Antonio_Sfeir.pdf: 596406 bytes, checksum: ba9f6d2de4dbeab8fffcccbf0e9b8a18 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-01-04 / This dissertation discusses perceptions and opinions of generic industry executives about the development of this market in Brazil through a qualitative survey with in depth interviews. Stakeholders?? competitive forces were also studied in generic industry environment. There is lack of academic information about generic drug industry worldwide. It was made ten interviews with executives in the generic industry in a period of three months study - from August through October 2005 - with the objective of analyzing their perceptions regarding the importance of distributor, pharmacy, physician, patient and government. The main criteria to select the interviewers were based on the strategic positions they have in the companies. Some of the conclusions of this study were that government develops an important role in divulging generic drugs to people. Pharmacy and distributor were indicated as barriers to grow this market due to the sales practices they develop in the stores. Physician plays an important role as a stakeholder in this industry in order to popularize the use of generic drug in Brazil. / Esta disserta????o discute as percep????es e opini??es dos executivos da ind??stria de gen??ricos sobre o desenvolvimento deste mercado no Brasil atrav??s de uma pesquisa qualitativa com entrevistas em profundidade. Foram analisadas as for??as competitivas dos stakeholders desta classe de medicamentos. Estas informa????es s??o ainda prec??rias na literatura acad??mica mundial. Foram realizadas entrevistas com dez executivos da Ind??stria Farmac??utica de gen??ricos, em um per??odo de estudo de tr??s meses - de agosto a outubro de 2005 - com o objetivo de verificar suas percep????es em rela????o a import??ncia do papel do distribuidor, farm??cia, m??dico, paciente e governo na performance desta ind??stria. O crit??rio principal de escolha dos entrevistados foi baseado nos cargos estrat??gicos ocupados por eles. Pode-se concluir que o governo desempenha um papel importante na divulga????o dos medicamentos gen??ricos ?? popula????o. A farm??cia e o distribuidor foram apontados como entraves no crescimento deste mercado, devido ??s pr??ticas utilizadas nos pontos-de-venda. O m??dico tamb??m foi apontado como um agente para popularizar o uso de medicamentos gen??ricos no Brasil.