What's the difference between generic and name brand prescription drugs?

The FDA website (fda.gov) is also a very good source. The major difference between a brand-name pharmaceutical and its generic counterpart is neither chemistry nor quality, but whether the drug is still under patent protection by the company that initially developed it. When a company develops a new drug, it typically receives a patent that lasts 20 years.

This means that other pharmaceutical companies may not sell this substance without permission from the developing company during that time. Once the patent expires, however, other companies may begin to sell the compound. Because companies wishing to sell the generic drug have much lower development costs, they can produce it at a lower unit cost, sell it for less and still make a profit on the sale.

The FDA regulates manufacture of both brand-name and generic drugs and the overall quality should be comparable. (This is an area of some contention between companies, but to a first approximation the statement is valid. ) .

The original company that made the drug spent the money on advertising, etc. To get the word out about the drug that it created. We all know how expensive advertising costs can be. Once the patent expires, the population is already aware of the drug.

So when companies begin to make copies (generic forms of the drug), they don't need to spend any money on advertising. That makes the price of the generic drug 30%-80% less than the cost of the brand name drug. That means a $100 brand name bottle could cost only $20 in it's generic form.

These generic drugs are often identical to their brand name counterparts. That makes the generic version just as effective as the original version. Generic drugs are also strictly regulated.

So when you get a generic drug from your pharmacist you can rest assured that you are still receiving the best medical care that is proven both safe and effective. According the US Food and Drug Administration, 76% of approved drugs now have generic counterparts. More and more are being produced each year.

This can save patients and insurance companies a significant amount of money.

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