Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. It might help the House to know that in the United States a generic drug must contain the same active ingredients as the original formulation. According to the US Food and Drug Administration generic drugs are identical or within an acceptable equivalent range to the brand name counterpart with respect to the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties.

I agree with the Minister of State that the quicker we can do this, the better it will be. If the United States has a definition which is identified - I accept it has gone off patent - and easily ascertainable, I might be even more optimistic than Senator Marc MacSharry and seek a period of less than 90 days. It appears that the process in this regard in the United States is quite rapid. I agree with both the Minister of State and the Senator that the position should be the same here.