Generic Drugs : What is it ?
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A generic drug (generic drugs, short: generics) is a drug which is produced
and distributed without patent protection (The generic drug may still have a
patent on the formulation but not on the active ingredient).
If you have ever had a prescription filled at a pharmacy you are probably
familiar with the term, "Generic drug". Do you know what a generic drug is?
They comprise approximately half of all prescriptions that are filled. Generic
drugs are equivalent to the brand-name drug but the generic has a lower
price.
When a pharmaceutical company first markets a drug, it is usually under a
patent that allows only the pharmaceutical company that developed the drug to
sell it. Generic drugs can be legally produced for drugs where:
The expiration of a patent removes the monopoly of the patent holder on drug
sales licensing. Patent lifetime differs from country to country, and typically
there is no way to renew a patent after it expires.[citation needed] A new
version of the drug with significant changes to the compound could be
patented, but this requires new clinical trials and does not prevent the generic
versions of the original drug.
A generic drug is a similar chemical or drug formulation and acts on the body
with the same strength and absorption process as the brand-name drug, so
the generic drug is the bioequivalent of the brand-name drug. The generic
drug must also be equal in not only the function of the drug but also in the
safety, strength, and route of administration (form it is taken in like pill form,
liquid form, etc.). It must also be equal in quality, performance and have the
same intended use as its brand-name drug. Given all the ways that the generic
must be equal to the brand-name drug, what is the difference between the
brand-name drug and its equivalent generic drug? The answer is one word -
price! Generic drugs are less expensive than their name-brand equivalents.
One reason that generic drug cost less than the equivalent brand-name drug
is that the generic drug has less over-head costs than the original creator of
the particular drug. The creator of the drug pays for all the research and
laboratory testing including clinical trials not to mention the cost of marketing
the original drug, all of which can add up to billions of dollars. They price the
brand-name drug so that they can recoup the cost of making and marketing
the drug.
People still do chose to purchase the brand name drug over the generic
equivalent, why would they do that? Some individuals succumb to the
marketing efforts of the original creator of the drug and buy the drug based on
name recognition. Others simply either do not understand that generics are
equal in quality, safety and effectiveness or they simply have the assumption
that generic drugs are somehow inferior to brand-name drugs. Some people
feel that you get what you pay for and if you pay less for a drug that is
supposedly the same than there must be something wrong with it.
Some patients are hesitant to switch from a brand-name drug to its equivalent
generic because of trust. They have become used to the name of the drug and
have build a trust in the drug that is works for them and are hesitant to trust a
generic to work as well. There may be certain cases in which a generic drug
will have different inactive ingredients than what the name-brand drug has in it.
These different inactive ingredients may make the drug taste or look different,
making people think that because it looks or taste different that it is different in
its effectiveness or its safety or quality. Then, there are those who think that if
a drug is cheaper that there must be something that has been left out in order
to make it cheaper.
======================================================
and distributed without patent protection (The generic drug may still have a
patent on the formulation but not on the active ingredient).
If you have ever had a prescription filled at a pharmacy you are probably
familiar with the term, "Generic drug". Do you know what a generic drug is?
They comprise approximately half of all prescriptions that are filled. Generic
drugs are equivalent to the brand-name drug but the generic has a lower
price.
- The principal reason for the
relatively low price of
generic medicines is that
competition increases
among producers when
drugs no longer are
protected by patents.
Companies also incur fewer
costs in creating the
generic drug, and are
therefore able to maintain
profitability while offering
the drug at a lower cost to
consumers.
When a pharmaceutical company first markets a drug, it is usually under a
patent that allows only the pharmaceutical company that developed the drug to
sell it. Generic drugs can be legally produced for drugs where:
- the patent has expired,
- the generic company certifies the brand company's patents are either
invalid, unenforceable or will not be infringed, - for drugs which have never held patents, or
- in countries where a patent(s) is/are not in force.
The expiration of a patent removes the monopoly of the patent holder on drug
sales licensing. Patent lifetime differs from country to country, and typically
there is no way to renew a patent after it expires.[citation needed] A new
version of the drug with significant changes to the compound could be
patented, but this requires new clinical trials and does not prevent the generic
versions of the original drug.
A generic drug is a similar chemical or drug formulation and acts on the body
with the same strength and absorption process as the brand-name drug, so
the generic drug is the bioequivalent of the brand-name drug. The generic
drug must also be equal in not only the function of the drug but also in the
safety, strength, and route of administration (form it is taken in like pill form,
liquid form, etc.). It must also be equal in quality, performance and have the
same intended use as its brand-name drug. Given all the ways that the generic
must be equal to the brand-name drug, what is the difference between the
brand-name drug and its equivalent generic drug? The answer is one word -
price! Generic drugs are less expensive than their name-brand equivalents.
One reason that generic drug cost less than the equivalent brand-name drug
is that the generic drug has less over-head costs than the original creator of
the particular drug. The creator of the drug pays for all the research and
laboratory testing including clinical trials not to mention the cost of marketing
the original drug, all of which can add up to billions of dollars. They price the
brand-name drug so that they can recoup the cost of making and marketing
the drug.
People still do chose to purchase the brand name drug over the generic
equivalent, why would they do that? Some individuals succumb to the
marketing efforts of the original creator of the drug and buy the drug based on
name recognition. Others simply either do not understand that generics are
equal in quality, safety and effectiveness or they simply have the assumption
that generic drugs are somehow inferior to brand-name drugs. Some people
feel that you get what you pay for and if you pay less for a drug that is
supposedly the same than there must be something wrong with it.
Some patients are hesitant to switch from a brand-name drug to its equivalent
generic because of trust. They have become used to the name of the drug and
have build a trust in the drug that is works for them and are hesitant to trust a
generic to work as well. There may be certain cases in which a generic drug
will have different inactive ingredients than what the name-brand drug has in it.
These different inactive ingredients may make the drug taste or look different,
making people think that because it looks or taste different that it is different in
its effectiveness or its safety or quality. Then, there are those who think that if
a drug is cheaper that there must be something that has been left out in order
to make it cheaper.
======================================================
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