Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28593504›Full record

ArticleDrug safety2017

An Algorithm to Identify Generic Drugs in the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System.

Geetha Iyer, Sathiya Priya Marimuthu, Jodi B Segal, Sonal Singh

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Drug safety, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Impact and implications of national centralized drug procurement in China.International journal of clinical pharmacy · 2024
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Geetha IyerDepartment of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
Sathiya Priya MarimuthuCenter for Drug Safety and Effectiveness, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Jodi B SegalCenter for Drug Safety and Effectiveness, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Sonal SinghDepartment of Family Medicine and Community Health and Meyers Primary Care Institute, Umass Memorial Health Care, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Ave North, Worcester, MA, 01655-0002, USA. Sonal.Singh@umassmemorial.org.

Funding

Clinical Pharmacology Training ProgramT32GM066691 · NIGMS · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI Matthew Michael Ippolito · 2003 to 2026
$6.4M
FDA HHS U01 FD005267NIGMS NIH HHS T32 GM066691U.S. Food and Drug Administration (US) U01FD005267
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionAlthough generic drugs constitute approximately 88% of drugs prescribed in the US, there are no reliable methods to identify generic drugs in the US FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS).

objectiveThe aim of this study was to develop an algorithm for identifying generic drugs in the FAERS. DATA SOURCE: We used 1237 adverse event reports for tamsulosin, levothyroxine, and amphetamine/dextroamphetamine from the publicly available FAERS from 2011-2013, and 277 source case narratives obtained from the FDA.

methodsTwo reviewers independently and in duplicate used a three-item algorithm including the following criteria: manufacturer name, New Drug Application (NDA) number/abbreviated NDA (ANDA), and specific use of the term 'generic' or 'brand' to classify the focal drug of each case report as definitely generic (two of three criteria), probably generic (one of three criteria), brand, and cannot be assessed. Inter-rater reliability was estimated using kappa coefficients, and internal consistency was estimated using Cronbach's alpha. We compared the classification of the drugs as generic versus non-generic in publicly available FAERS compared with the original case reports (reference).

resultsThe focal drug was classified as generic (definite or probable) in 15.8% (39/234), 9% (67/742), and 16.7% (42/261) of tamsulosin, levothyroxine and amphetamine/dextroamphetamine cases, respectively (overall kappa 0.89, 95% confidence interval 0.85-0.93), while 37% of reports could not be classified due to incomplete information. Among the drugs classified as generics using the publicly available FAERS, we categorized 95.3% as generic drugs using the original case reports. Among those drugs that did not meet the algorithm-based definition of generic in the publicly available data, 20.9% were reclassified as generics using the original case reports.

conclusionsThe algorithm demonstrated high inter-rater reliability with moderate internal consistency for identifying generic drugs in the FAERS, in our sample. Future efforts should focus on improving the reliability and validity of identifying generics through improving the completeness of reporting in the FAERS.

Indexed as

AlgorithmsAdverse Drug Reaction Reporting SystemsDatabases, FactualDrug-Related Side Effects and Adverse ReactionsDrugs, GenericHumansObserver VariationReproducibility of ResultsUnited StatesUnited States Food and Drug AdministrationDrugs, Generic

Identifiers

PMID28593504
PMCPMC9239739

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.