Generics = Branded Drugs

Generics are the exact replicas of the branded drugs. Generic drugs are those drugs that are manufactured by following the same protocol and formulation of the branded drug that are not protected by the patent. Generic drugs can be manufactured by following the same formulation only when they are not protected by the patent, if the branded drug is patented then, generic drug can not be manufactured, or else the generic drug manufacturer has to pay some commission to the branded drug manufacturer. Generic drugs are same in effectiveness and properties to the branded drug. Generic drug are produced by the manufacturer according to the standard guidelines mentioned by the Food and Drug Administration. Generic drugs are allowed to be sold in the market only after they are approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

The guidelines put forth by the Food and Drug Administration are:

1. Generic drug for the branded drug can be prepared only if the branded drug is not protected by the patent.

2. Generic drug must have the same active constituent of the branded drug.

3. Generic drug should have the similar pharmacological and pharmacodynamic properties.

4. The side effects caused by the generic drugs should not be more than the branded drug.

5. The shape and color of the generic drug should be different than the original branded drug.

6. The time taken by the generic drug to show the desired effect should be akin with the branded drug.

The generic drug manufacturer needs to follow all the above mentioned points in order to approve the generic drug for the sale in the market. Additionally, the officials from the Food and Drug Administration visits the manufacturing unit of the generic drug manufacturer to check the whether the safety procedures mentioned by them are followed by them or not. If the safety procedures are not followed by generic drug manufacturer then the generic drug is not approved and is not allowed to be sold in the drug. Thus, if the generic drug is approved by the Food and Drug Administration then there is no risk in purchasing the generic drug.

The one more reason why consumers should go for the generic drugs is that they are available at very low cost than the branded drugs. Generic drugs are the combination of excellence in quality and cheaper in costs. Thus, consumers should not think more and opt for the generic drugs with the confidence. The people think that generic drugs are very cheap in rate and so are substandard in quality, but the main reasons why generic drugs are cheaper are— no money is spent on the research of the generic drug as the manufacturer of the generic drug only has to follow the formulation of the branded drug. Even the clinical trials for the generic drugs are not done by the manufacturing company as they are already carried out by the branded drug manufacturer, but the clinical trials of the generic drugs are carried out by the Food and Drug Administration. Generic drugs get the benefit of the promotion and publicity carried out by the branded drug, so the generic drug manufacturer saves his money here. As a result, the generic drugs are very cheap in cost in comparison to the branded drugs.

One more basic reason of the low cost of the generic drugs is the competition among the drug manufacturer as the drug is not protected by the patent. Even the quality of the generic drugs is found to be very fine because of this competition. Generic drugs has a very long history, the first generic drug introduced was Aspirin. After that lot of generic drugs came in the market, but the generic drug which revolutionized the generic drug industry is the generic Viagra. Generic Viagra was the first generic drugs that captured even the market of the original Viagra. Thus, I would like to mention here that generic drugs are absolutely safe and they are same as the branded drugs.