INCREASE IN ADVERSE EVENTS FOLLOWING GENERIC CLOPIDOGREL COMMERCIALIZATION IN QUEBEC, CANADA: A TIME SERIES ANALYSIS

摘要

BACKGROUND: Clopidogrel is a drug used to prevent athero-thrombotic events. Comparative bioavailability studies regulate bioequivalence of generic and brand-name drugs before licensing. Generic drugs could be up to 20% more, or less, bioavailable compared to their brand-name counterpart. Whether bioequivalence of generic drugs translate into clinical equivalence at a population level remains unclear. We evaluated the impact of the generic clopidogrel commercialization on two adverse events: emergency room (ER) consultations or hospitalizations.