Comparison of Preparation Efficiency and Therapeutic Safety between Generic Products of Gemcitabine

Abstract Because generic medicines reduce the financialburden on patients and medicalinsurance providers, they have become increasingly popular. However, there are only a few reports that have analyzed the efficacy and safety of generic medicines, especially in terms of their characteristics and side effects. Gemcitabine is an antineoplastic drug that is frequently used with good results in the treatment of lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and malignant lymphoma. However, its fat solubility is high, and several adverse events, such as myelosuppression, are known to develop during its use. We investigated the efficacy, characteristics, and the incidence of adverse events for the generic versions of gemcitabine. We found differences between the generic versions in terms of the characteristics and preparation time; however, the incidence of adverse events was not significantly different, suggesting that the generic versions could be a reasonable substitute.