Are Generic Drugs Good For Me?
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 Subscribe To Our Feed
You may have been asked when you have gone to the pharmacy to fill a prescription if you would like to try the generic version of the drug. Some people are unsure about what it is that generic drugs are exactly. If you take medications regularly, then you should know about these types of drugs in order to decide whether or not to use them.
There are new medications that are being constantly researched and developed by pharmaceutical companies. When they have come up with a new medicine that they want to release, they have to patent it and have it approved for use by the FDA. Having a patent stops other companies from developing the same medications and protects the original company’s significant financial investment.
When the drug patent is nearing expiration, other companies can then apply to be allowed to manufacture that medication too. The drugs that are manufactured by companies other than the one that created the drug are known as generics. These are composed the same way as the original medicine, but they are less expensive for the consumer to buy at the point of sale.
There are a few reasons the costs are lower on generic medications. The first is that developing medications is expensive and the company has to recoup the costs they incurred in creating the medicine. Next there are usually high marketing and advertising costs that are associated with a new medication. Advertising is done to the public, as well as to health professionals such as doctors and pharmacists. There are medical representatives who are sent to visit them and leave samples and merchandising materials.
Some people worry that because they are buying a cheaper version of the drug that it is inferior in some way. This is a major misconception about generics. A company cannot create a generic version of a drug without first having approval from the government and to do this the strength, actives, composition and safety of the medication is stringently tested.
Other misconceptions that some people have about generics are that they take a longer time to be absorbed by the body or that they are not as strong. This is not right as the generics work in the same way as the brand and are structurally the same medication. Some people also believe that the pills must be manufactured to lower standards, but this is also an incorrect idea.
Although the generic and the brand medications are chemically the same, they may look different. The laws relating to generics do not allow the drugs to look identical to each other. For this reason you might find they are different colors or shapes than the original medication.
Generic drugs are not available for every medication, but they are available for a number of them. If you take a medication regularly and you would like to try the generic drugs, tell your pharmacist next time you go to fill the prescription. If you are still worried about using generic drugs, you can talk to your doctor more about the idea.
Tags: Traditional Chinese Medicine, natural remedy for depression, natural remedy for arthritis
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