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Generic medications will cost you less than branded versions |
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| Date Added: March 10, 2010 09:03:55 AM | |
| Author: anvgelica19 | |
| Category: Health | |
According to the U.S. Food and Drug administration (FDA), to get FDA approval, a generic medicine must: contain identical active ingredients as the branded drug (inactive ingredients may differ), be bioequivalent in concentration, dose form and route of administration; comply with the same batch requirements for identity, potency, purity and quality; be manufactured under the same established standards of FDA's Good Manufacturing Practice regulations required for branded drugs and medicines. To put it differently, their pharmacological effects are identical to those of their brand name versions. Though generic medications are chemically bioequivalent to their trade name versions, they are usually sold at considerable discounts from the trade name cost. It is estimated that generic medicines save customers $8 - &10 billion yearly at retail pharmacies. Even more billions are saved when hospitals use generic medicines. The primary reason for the comparatively low cost of generics is that competition rises among makers when drugs no longer are protected by patents. Firms spend less money on creating a generic medicine, and are, therefore, able to maintain profitability at a lower cost to customers. The costs of these generic drugs are so low that many developing countries can easily afford them. For instance, Thailand is going to import millions of doses of the generic version of Plavix, a blood-thinning treatment to preclude heart attacks, at a cost of 3 US cents per dose from India, the leading maker of generic medications. Makers of generics do not need to spend money on discovering a drug, and instead are able to reverse engineer known medicine compounds to allow them to make bioequivalent versions. Manufacturers do not bear the burden of proving the safety and effectiveness of the medicines through clinical studies, since these trials have already been carried out by the trade name company. Generic medications may at times be shaped differently than branded versions, such as a generic pill versus a trade name bolus. Nonetheless, they have the same active ingredients and are produced under the same standards as branded drugs. |
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