Medical drugs have a period when the pharmaceutical company which first developed it has the exclusive rights for manufacturing and marketing them (period during which patent is in effect and reevaluation period for verifying efficacy and safety), and the drugs manufactured and marketed during this period are called original drugs.
Once this period expires, based on the publicized patent information, other pharmaceutical companies can manufacturer/market drugs which contain the same active ingredients. These drugs thus launched which contain the same active ingredients as the original drug are called generic drugs.
The characteristics of generic drugs are that while they have the same active ingredients and as a general rule the same efficacy, effect, dosage and administration as the original drug, their prices are lower. Also, while the original drugs are exclusive to the pharmaceutical company which developed it first, in many cases, generic drugs are manufactured and marketed by several pharmaceuticals. In the Western market, as these drugs are often prescribed using the generic names of the active ingredients (as opposed to original drugs which are often called by their brand names), they have been called generic drugs, and this term has become popular in Japan as well.
In this section, “medical expenditure” refers to the actual cost incurred at medical facilities for examinations, medications, and treatment for sickness or injury. Note that while “medical expenditure” refers to approximate medical expenditure, “national medical care expenditure” refers to the estimated costs of treating injuries and diseases covered by insurance. Specifically, “national medical care expenditure” includes costs for medical and dental treatment, pharmaceutical dispensing, hospital room and board, in-home nursing care, and treatments such as those from chiropractors/acupuncturists.