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nLine - Prescription Drug Information
- Fioricet - Treatment for tension headaches and migraines.
- Butalbital - Non-narcotic medication for tension headaches.
- Cialis - Medication for male impotence and Erectile Dysfunction (ED).
- Esgic Plus - A combination prescription drug with fever reducer, relaxant barbiturate and blood vessel dilator to treat headaches.
- Ultracet -
Medication for pain relief, such as post-surgery pain, the pain from dental procedures or muscle pains.
- Tramadol - Fast relief of moderately severe pain.
- Carisoprodol - Muscle relaxant and analgesic to alleviate pain and relax strained, sprained, cramped and stiff muscles.
- Soma - Works to relax over tense muscles and relieve pain in muscles.
- Acyclovir - battle against the herpes simplex virus.
- Prozac - “selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor,” a class of drugs prescribed for sufferers of depressive illness.
Generic Drugs: What are they?
Simply put a generic drug is an identical copy of a brand name drug on which the patent has expired. For the FDA to approve a generic drug it has to be identical in the way it is taken---capsule, injection, pill etc---and equivalent to the brand name product in dosage, safety, strength, quality, performance and intended use. These bioequivalent, chemically identical formulations save consumers some $10 billion dollars per annum and that doesn’t include the savings made by hospitals that use generics.
Why are they so much cheaper? Well drug companies spend a lot of money on the research/development and animal testing of new drugs. More money is then spent on human trials, marketing and follow-up evaluations that test for side effects and confirmation of the therapeutic benefits.
Brand name manufacturers also spend a lot on ongoing advertising and marketing the drug to doctors. Generic manufacturers tend to rely on price as the main motivation to sell drugs that brand name suppliers have already created demand and consumer awareness for.
Their commercial reward is a patent, usually for twenty-years, that stops the manufacture and sale of the drug by competitors. After the patent expires other companies are allowed to manufacture and market the product, without having to undergo the rigorous trials and other costs incurred by the first patent holder.
The manufacturers of these new equivalent, or generic, drugs must comply with the same rigorous standards, under the supervision of the Food and Drug Administration, (FDA) as those imposed on the innovator drug developer.
However as the generic manufacturer is often a smaller, leaner operation than the innovator drug developer who doesn’t have to repeat expensive animal and clinical research on ingredients and dosage forms carried out by the original developer they can sell the same product---the generic drug--- for considerably less than the innovator drug.
The FDA will only authorize the manufacture and sale of generic drugs if they and the innovator drug are:
- The same in dosage, safety, intended use and delivery method (injection, capsule, pill etc.)
- The identical in strength, quality, purity and stability
- Use identical ingredients and work in the body in the same way
- Have the same standards of manufacture, in facilities that are the comparable, to those approved for the innovator equivalent.
Usually the only differences between brand name drugs and a generic drugs are color, pill shape and price.
Guarantees
The FDA, through legislation, administers all regulations that govern the manufacture and sale of pharmaceuticals in the United States. There main role is to protect consumers and to do that agents police every aspect of this industry including the licensing, manufacture and sale of generic, which must use the same active ingredients as brand-name drugs and work the same way. That means generic pharmaceuticals have the same risks and benefits as the brand-name drugs. The largest organization of medical doctors, the American Medical Association, has endorsed generic drugs as acceptable for use by hospitals and their member’s patients throughout the United States.
Facts
- Generics accounted for $19 billion out of the total of $240 billion worth of pharmaceutical sold in the United States
- It is estimated that generic drugs save American consumers some $10 billion. Further savings estimated at $3 billion are made by hospitals using generic pharmaceuticals
- Of the nearly 11,000 prescription drugs approved for sale in the United States 7,632 have equivalent generic counterparts
- More and more generic equivalents of brand name drugs will become available as patents expire
- The price of generic drugs averages 20 to 80 percent less than the equivalent brand name product. These savings are helping to keep the cost of health care lower.
- The decision on whether to use a generic drug is really a choice you can make in consultation with your physician and pharmacist.
- The manufacture of all drugs, including generics, is controlled and regulated by the United States government
Consumer Education: Generic Drugs
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