Generic medicines have long been disregarded by people, due to a lack of knowledge. In fact, generic drugs are as effective as their respective counterparts are. They are manufactured based on bioequivalence-criteria set by medical governing bodies, thus generic medicines serve to be a perfect alternative to patented medicines.
People have a tendency to cling on to products that are affordable and the same is true for medicines. Affordable medicines or generic drugs are something that people resort to, considering various factors such as cost, availability, etc. However, most people are dubious about these drugs as to their quality and effectiveness, which is unnecessary.
In an era of rising medical costs, these drugs are a safe and cost-effective way to get medicines for various diseases. Research conducted in this field shows that with the use of generic drugs consumers save up to $10 billion a year, altogether. These drugs may also be used because the costs that a country incurs in importing branded drugs may be comparatively a lot higher. Studies estimate that about one-third of people in developing countries do not purchase patented drugs and opt for generics because of the high prices of branded drugs.
How Different Is Generic Medicines?
Generic medicines are not so different from their branded counterparts. They contain the same active ingredient. Their inactive ingredients may be different in some cases. Other than that there is nothing that is different in generic drugs. Most of these drugs have the same strengths, ways of administration, efficacy, and safety. The manufacturer of a certain generic drug should first file an ANDA (Abbreviated New Drug Application) to the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) and upon approval can launch the drug.
Generic drugs may have a different shape or color but this does not affect the overall efficacy of the drug. It is mainly due to the use of a different inactive ingredient. As a matter of fact, in the United States, laws regarding trademarks state that no two generic and branded drugs should be identical; this calls for the different appearance of the tablets as well.
Benefits of Generic Medicines
The benefits of generic medicines are two-fold. They not only help consumers save a lot of dollars on expensive medicine, but they also help drug companies a lot. Generally, when a company wants to make a drug, they incur millions of dollars for discovering the drug. After that, numerous trials (both on animals and humans) are conducted to record the overall effect a drug has on the disease it is being developed against. Many trials are conducted until the FDA approves the drug. Surveys show that some companies have even spent around $1 billion to manufacture a new drug.
Also, when a new drug is launched in the market, companies have to shell out huge sums of monies for the marketing of the drug. This procedure is also somewhat lessened as people are aware of the branded product. Many generic products are launched after its branded counterpart is on the market for a long time.
One can buy generic medicines online at the best price from a reputed source. Many people think that when one product is less expensive than the other, it is of inferior quality. Well, this might be true for a lot of products but is not the case of medicines. As stated above companies incur less cost in producing generic drugs because they don’t have to bear those expenses that are applicable for manufacturing a new drug.