WHO: Generic Drugs is as effective as, but much cheaper than, Branded Drugs

A generic drug is a pharmaceutical product, usually intended to be interchangeable with an innovator product that is manufactured without a license from the innovator company and marketed after the expiry date of the patent or other exclusive rights", says the world health organization (WHO).

The organization further adds that Generic drugs are marketed under a non-proprietary or approved name rather than a proprietary or brand name. Generic drugs are frequently as effective as, but much cheaper than, brand-name drugs.

WHO, which is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health, cites an example of paracetamol which is a chemical ingredient found in a number of brand-name painkillers, but is also sold as a generic drug (not under a brand name).

Because of their low price, generic drugs are often the only medicines that the poorest can access . The Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement does not prevent governments from requiring accurate labeling or allowing generic substitution. Indeed, it is argued that competition between drug companies and generic producers has been more effective than negotiations with drug companies in reducing the cost of drugs, in particular those used to treat HIV/AIDS .

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"A brand name is a name given to a drug by the manufacturer and the use of the name is reserved exclusively for its owner", admits WHO.

While defining a Counterfeit medicine, the organization states that it is a medicine that is deliberately and fraudulently mislabeled with respect to identity and/or source. Counterfeiting can apply to both branded and generic products. Counterfeit products may include products with the correct ingredients or the wrong ingredients, lacking active ingredients, with incorrect quantities of active ingredients, or fake packaging .