Generic Medication vs Brands

1. FACTS ABOUT GENERIC DRUGS Today, nearly 8 in 10 prescriptions filled in the U.S. are for generic drugs. GENERIC SAME QUALITY & PERFORMANCE BRAND FDA requires generic drugs to have the same active ingredient, strength, dosage form, and route of administration as the brand-name drug. The generic manufacturer must prove its drug is the same (bioequivalent) as the brand-name drug. All manufacturing, packaging, and testing sites must pass the same quality standards as those of brand-name drugs. Many generic drugs are made in the same manufacturing plants as the brand-name drugs.

2. ALL FDA-APPROVED GENERIC DRUGS MUST BE EQUIVALENT TO THE BRAND-NAME DRUG. Any generic drug modeled after a single, brand name drug must perform approximately the same in the body as the brand name drug. There will always be a slight, but not medically important, level of natural variability just as there is for one batch of brand name drug compared to the next batch canadian pharmacy online without prescription of brand name product. This amount of difference would be expected and acceptable, whether for one batch of brand name drug tested against another batch of the same brand, or for a generic tested against a brand name drug. $$$ $ In 2010 alone, the use of FDA-approved generics saved $158 billion. $$$ $ 80-85% LESS Average cost of a generic drug vs. its brand-name counterpart $3 billion saved every week! Sun Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri Sat

3. THE LOWER PRICE DOESN’T MEAN INFERIOR. Generic manufacturers are able to sell their products for lower prices because they are not required to repeat the costly clinical trials of new drugs and generally do not pay for costly advertising, marketing, and promotion In addition, multiple generic companies apply to FDA to approve a generic for the same brand name drugs. Multiple generic companies are often approved to market a single product. Competition in the market place, often results in lower prices. $ $$$ FDA MONITORS ADVERSE EVENTS REPORTS FOR GENERIC DRUGS. The monitoring of adverse events for all drug products, including generic drugs, is one aspect of the overall FDA effort to evaluate the safety of drugs after approval. Many times, reports of adverse events describe a known reaction to the active drug ingredient. Reports are monitored and investigated, when appropriate. Investigations may lead to changes in how a product is used or manufactured. FDA IS ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN MAKING GENERIC DRUGS SAFER. FDA is aware that there are reports that some people may experience an undesired effect when switching from a brand name drug to a generic formulation or from one generic drug to another generic drug. FDA order cialis online no prescription wants to understand what may cause problems with certain formulations if, in fact, they are linked to specific generic products. FDA is encouraging the generic industry to investigate whether, and under what circumstances, such problems occur. The Agency does not have the resources to perform independent clinical studies and lacks the regulatory authority to require industry to conduct such studies. FDA will continue to investigate these reports to ensure that it has all the facts about these treatment failures and will make recommendations to healthcare professionals and the public if the need arises. 1Davit et al. Comparing generic and innovator drugs: a review of 12 years of bioequivalence data from the United States Food and Drug Administration.

Since pharmaceutical companies often spend billions of dollars discovering and developing new medicines, patents are issued in order to allow the company to market and sell the treatment exclusively. A brand drug’s patent exclusivity may last up to 20 years. During this period, the pharmaceutical company owning the patent has exclusive rights to freely manufacture and market the brand drug they developed.

Crestor’s generic is called Rosuvastatin Calcium

During development, the drug will often be assigned two names. In order to market the drug to a broad audience, the medication is given a brand name, which will stand out in marketing and is often easier to say. It is also assigned a generic name, which is considered the drug’s common scientific name. A good example is the brand drug Lipitor and its generic equivalent Atorvastatin Calcium. Once the brand drug’s patent exclusivity expires, other pharmaceutical companies are given the green light to manufacture and sell the generic version.

Read our blog post on how to find the lowest price on Rosuvastatin Calcium here!

Generic drugs must have the same active ingredients as their brand counterparts, which have already been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Once patents expire, the same drug company that developed the medication is allowed to erectile dysfunction meds without prescription produce both generic and brand version simultaneously. This can be a controversial topic, considering the cost differences between generic and brand. Although they have been manufactured by the same company, costs can vary widely.

UPDATE: Some consumers say they have experienced joint pain after switching over to Rosuvastatin Calcium. If you are also experiencing joint pain while on Rosuvastatin Calcium, it would be smart to discuss these side effects with your pharmacist or physician.

The FDA has identified guidelines for how a generic version can be manufactured.

How are brand and generic drugs similar?

The generic version must contain the same active ingredients as the brand. This means the chemical make-up of each drug must be identical. It also must have the same dosage strength, form and route of administration.

How do brand and generic drugs differ?

A big difference is in the name of the drug. They can also have different sizes, shapes, colors and markings. They will possibly have different inactive ingredients as well. The make-up of drugs requires both active and inactive ingredients. Some individuals may have an allergy to certain inactive ingredients, like dyes used to color the pills. Be sure to consult a physician or pharmacist before taking a generic version of your medication.

A major difference between brand and generics is cost. About 88% of medications prescribed in the U.S. are generics. This is because the cost of generics can be extremely different than their brand counterparts. For example, the popular drug Zocor costs $221.50 on average, for 30 tablets of 20 mg. When searching pharmacy prices with LowestMed’s search tool, Zocor’s generic equivalent, Simvastatin, costs just $6.69 for the exact same dosage, form and quantity.

Since generics can vary by manufacturer, various pharmacies may carry different versions of generic drug. Though active ingredients are the same, the inactive ingredients could vary, which would account for why some versions of the same drug look different than each other. The drug Phentermine is a good example of this.