China's National Healthcare Security Administration said the generic drugs distributed through the country's public hospitals are as effective as original drugs, Reuters reported Sunday, citing state-backed newspaper People's Daily.

The development came as doctors in Beijing and Shanghai raised concerns about the quality of the drugs, saying the generic drugs are not as effective as their Western counterparts, the report said.

The country's healthcare regulator said it had assessed the generic drugs and supervised their approval, the report said.

Investigations into the quality of the drugs found the worries to be unsubstantiated, adding the perceptions regarding generic anesthetics and laxatives came from "subjective feelings," Reuters reported, citing the regulator.

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