[Generic drugs and right of substitution. Relating to Article 29 of the 1999 *social Security Financing Act].

The 1999 Social Security Financing Act grants the right of substitution to pharmacists. If the prescriptor does not object, the pharmacist can replace a medicine by its generic. After reiterating that generic medicines are essentially similar but not strictly identical to the original or to each other, we analyze the discussions which took place at the National Assembly and Senate which should have resulted in some further modifications to the recently adopted legislative text.