FACTS: BRAND NAME DRUGS vs. GENERIC DRUGS

BRAND NAME DRUGS: Drugs manufactured and sold with patent protection.

GENERIC DRUGS: Drugs manufactured and sold without patent protection.

The difference in the two: COST SAVINGS TO YOU.

BRAND NAME DRUGS are created and produced at a great cost to the founding and manufacturing company. Sources say the “average” cost to produce a new drug is between $100,000,000 and $200,000,000 but can skyrocket much higher.

When can you get GENERIC DRUGS?

During a period of time after the patent has expired or through licensing with the original company. The patent in the United States in developing BRAND NAME DRUGS is for 20 years. Since the patent is sought at the “beginning” of the process, the beneficial time in use for sale of the drug is about 8-12 years.

How can you get GENERIC DRUGS?

Ask your physician or pharmacist.

How do GENERIC DRUGS come into existence?

The GENERIC DRUG company reverse-engineers the drug. Then there must be approval by the FDA, that it is “bioequivalent” to the original BRAND NAME DRUG. Bioequivalent refers to the testing done on (for example) a BRAND NAME DRUG and its GENERIC DRUG. The two, once administered to a patient, should act the same. If they are within acceptable levels of each other, the FDA considered the GENERIC DRUG to be a bioequivalent of the BRAND NAME DRUG.

Why is there such a cost savings between BRAND NAME DRUGS and GENERIC DRUGS?

There is such a cost savings for the consumer and insurance company because the GENERIC DRUG manufacturer does not have to provide and incur the mounting financial burden of “drug discovery” which includes lab tests, human tests, and years of testing. Drug Discovery is the accepted term in the industry for which drugs are discovered and designed for our consumption, then approved by the FDA.

A BRAND NAME DRUG and a GENERIC DRUG do NOT have to be 100% the same, but function within a certain acceptable range of use. For example: The accepted range of use for a BRAND NAME DRUG on two individuals may vary by 90%. That is - using the same BRAND NAME DRUG. Each person’s body is going to absorb and receive the benefit of a certain dosage differently. Therefore, an equivalently made counterpart to a BRAND NAME DRUG, which is a GENERIC DRUG, must meet those same criteria. It must be within an acceptable range created and tested by the BRAND NAME DRUG standards.

Is a GENERIC DRUG as effective as a BRAND NAME DRUG?

The FDA seems to feel it is.

There are a few drugs for which a physician may not allow a GENERIC DRUG SUBSTITUE, however it has often to do with the individual themselves or certain testing requirement for absorption levels of the medication or other factors only known to the physician themselves.

Better the money be in YOUR POCKET verses the DRUG STORE and BRAND NAME DRUG company.

A recent article published by the online giant AOL noted that there are 10 BRAND NAME DRUGS which are up for patent expiration between now and 2015. This information may be of interest to you if you or someone you know take these BRAND NAME DRUGS. The link is below.

The writer of this hub is not in the medical profession. I am a consumer just like you. I research where my money is going. If you can benefit from this brief explanation or need to look further into the differences, you may want to become more comfortable speaking with your private physician to make sure a GENERIC DRUG is right for you.

Thank you for reading my hub. If you have comments that may benefit our hub readers, please share. I look forward to your generous comments. Warmly, Cj.

The AOL link is: http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/investing/top-selling-drugs-are-about-to-lose-patent-protection-ready/19830027/?icid=maing|main5|dl6|sec1_lnk3|47331