Prescription Drugs - Generic vs Brand Name

You may have heard about how switching to a generic medication will save you money and now may be wondering about how generic medications compare to their brand name counterparts. Knowing the facts about generics versus brand names can help make you a smarter shopper. Let’s look at some of the issues involved.

All generic drugs are reviewed and approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or in other countries, by an equivalent federal regualtory body (such as Canada's Therapeutic Products Directorate.) Directorate.) The regulatory boards in Canada, Israel, Chile, Australia and the UK all require that generic drugs have the same active ingredients, quality, strength, purity, and stability as brand name drugs. Generic drugs are copies of brand name drugs. They also must have the same dosage form – whether you swallow it (pill/tablet/capsule/caplet), drink it (liquid), or inject the medication.

Quality of generic drugs

If your doctor prescribes a generic drug, it has the same active ingredients as the brand name drug. In some cases, the generic drugs are made by the same brand name company. They are just packaged differently.

Appearance of generics

Generic drugs may sometimes be shaped differently from brand names, such as a generic tablet versus a brand name capsule. But they still have the same active ingredients and are manufactured to the same standards as brand name medications. Generic drugs look different than brand name drugs because trademark laws do not allow generics to look exactly like brand name drugs. Colors, flavors and other inactive and inert ingredients such as fillers may be different.

These variations are also seen between brand name drugs sold in different countries. A product can be a capsule in the U.S. but a tablet in Canada, for example, even though it is made by the same brand name company.

Costs of generics

Generic drugs are usually much less expensive than their brand name counterparts. This price difference is mainly due to the high cost of research and development associated with producing brand name drugs; however, there are other factors to consider. Advertising costs for brand name drugs are extremely high, and recouping this cost is a major consideration when a drug's retail price is set by its manufacturer. In Canada, for example, drug companies are not allowed to advertise directly to customers and therefore marketing costs are greatly lower than in the U.S. Generic drugs are less expensive to produce because manufacturers of generic drugs don’t have the research, development, advertising and marketing costs that the developer of a new drug has. This allows the manufacturer to sell their product for less.

Do generic drugs take longer to work?

Generic drugs do not take longer to work in the body. Generic drugs are required to deliver the same amount of active ingredient, in the same amount of time as brand name drugs.

Not all drugs have a generic equivalent. Your pharmacist or doctor can tell you if there is a generic version of the medication you are talking or if there is a medication in the same family of drugs that has a generic.