Prescription Drugs and Pet Remedies

Q:

What is a "Generic" medication/drug?

A:

Generic drugs are carefully regulated medications that have the same medicinal ingredients as the original brand name drug, but which are generally cheaper in price. Nearly 1 in 3 drugs dispensed are "generic". They undergo comparative testing to ensure that they are equal to their "brand" counterparts. What this means is that "generic" medications can be used as a substitute of their brand equivalents with the same therapeutic results.

Q:

What differences are there between generic and brand?

A:

While generics and brand equivalent drugs contain the same active ingredients, however they may be different in the color, shape, size, cost and appearance. However, a generic drug must contain the same active ingredients and must be equivalent in strength and dosage to the original brand name equivalent. Hence, generic drugs can be more cost effective than purchasing the brand name.

Q:

Why do generics cost less than the brand name equivalents?

A:

When a new drug is "invented", the company that discovered it has a patent on it that gives them the exclusive production rights for that medication. Once the patent expires other companies can bring the product to market under their own name. The patent period prevents other companies from copying the drug so they can earn back their Research and Development costs through being the exclusive supplier of the product. After the patent expires, other companies can develop a "generic" version of the product. These versions generally are offered at much lower prices because the companies do not have the same development costs as the original company who developed the medication.

The main thing to realize here though is that the two products are therapeutically equivalent. They may look different, and be called something different, but they are required to be chemically equivalent.

Q:

How are Generic drugs tested to ensure quality and efficacy?

A:

The two most generally accepted methods to prove the safety of a generic version of a drug are to either repeat most of the chemistry, animal and human studies originally done, or to show that the drug performs comparably with the original brand name drug. The second option is called a "comparative bioavailability" study. For that type of study, volunteers are given the original drug, and then separately later the generic drug.

The rates at which the drug is delivered to the patient (into their blood stream or otherwise absorbed) are measured to ensure they are the same. Because the same active ingredient is used the major concern is just that it delivers the common chemical(s) at the same rate so that they have the same effect.