You may have come across debates and campaigns for and against generic drugs in all likely places, but I am damn sure, whether or not campaigners against generic drugs win their battles, it’s not going to stop FDA from approving effective and quality drugs for manufacturing and marketing regardless of whether they are new inventions or generic copies. Just look at what the high office of the approving authority FDA has to say about the controversy : Also, once generic drugs are approved, there is greater competition, which keeps the price down.
Yes, generic drugs are astonishingly cheap than brand-name drugs, some times cheaper than the amount you pay towards cost-sharing of prescription drugs. I am really intrigued as to why noises are made against generic drugs being sold at discount prices despite their manufacturers not having anywhere comparable costs of the innovator of new drugs. Also, once they pass the adjudicator’s hammer, they are stamped as bioequivalent to brand-name drugs and have the same effect on your physiological system as brand-name drugs. They are tested thoroughly by FDA only to ensure that their ingredients and performance meet the standards in all respects. And why would a responsible body not do it if it induces greater competition and helps clip down prices ?
Now take this: I am often asked whether generic drugs are actually as good as patented products. I would rather say this is another hackneyed version of the old question I have tried to answer above here. Actually, generic drugs are cheaper only because they don’t come with a price tag of developing and marketing a new drug. Also, it is rubbish to suggest that they are manufactured in shabby facilities and thus are inferior to brand-name drugs. Their manufacturing costs fall still further if they are manufactured in developing countries.
Consumers are assured that generic drugs are equally effective and safe as original products. Once a generic drug is approved, there are many companies trying to manufacture it. In all, besides being cheap they contribute towards saving patients and insurance companies of expenses of millions of dollars.
Thanks to the new innovative drugs, generic drugs are possible only because of them. A survey says up to 84% people are happier that generic drugs are helpful in controlling overall healthcare costs. According to another survey, most people believe generic drugs are equivalent to patented drugs.
There is overall agreement about generic drugs and if at all there is counter arguments against them, all I can say is that they are from one quarter alone and everybody know who is behind it and why. There are several examples where generics are manufactured by the patent owners to counter their market share erosion. Although it is true that generic drugs are not always formulated in exactly same way as their patented counterparts, it is understandable that they are not permitted to have the same formulation with inactive ingredients although active ingredients enjoy this privilege. I think till such times the market matures, the responsibility rests entirely on the shoulders of manufacturers of generic drugs to assure that generic drugs are absolutely safe for use.
by Dorothy Health
