Generic versus Brand Name drugs - which are better?

Have you been considering using generic drugs to help save money on your prescriptions? Have you ever wondered if generic drugs are as good as name brand drugs? If you answered yes to those question the truth of the matter is that there is not an easy answer. Basically what this means is that in some cases generic drugs can be just as good as name brand drugs, but in other cases the name brand drugs are actually better. So in order to decide which types of drugs are going to be best for your medical needs you are going to need to talk to your doctor.

One thing that you need to know about generic drugs is that they are required to be approved by the FDA. What this means is that companies cannot sell the generic versions of any type of drug without the FDA's approval; the generic drugs go through the same process as the name brand drugs. But getting the generic drugs to pass inspection is often easier than the name brand drugs because the generic drugs don't have to go through the entire research process, although they still need to be tested to ensure that the ingredients that are in the drug have the same effects as their name brand counterparts.

Another benefit to using generic drugs is that they are required by law to have the same active ingredients and the same amount of the active ingredients as their brand name counterparts, but the amount and type of inactive ingredients can actually be different. So what this means for most consumers is that you are getting the same prescription but for a much cheaper price. In fact it has been proven that over a few years generic drugs can save you up to 60% on your total prescription costs. One of the main reasons that generic drugs are so much cheaper than name brand drugs is because the companies that are making these generic drugs do not have to pay for the advertising that is done for the drugs, nor is the research process as complicated once the patent has expired, which is about 20 years after the drug has been approved by the FDA.

But just because generic drugs are cheaper and have to follow strict laws by that are set forth by the FDA that doesn't always mean that the generic drugs are the best choice. In fact with certain drugs it is actually recommended that you don't take the generic version of the drug because it doesn't work as well as the name brand version. The reasons that the generic drugs don't always work as well as the name brand drugs is because of the pharmaceutically equivalent, bioavailability, and bioequivalent factors.

Pharmaceutically equivalent:
This is where the two types of drugs are considered the same because they contain the same chemically active ingredients and are identical in dosage form and strength. So in some cases what happens is that the drugs are not pharmaceutically equivalent to one another so problems can start to arise in substituting the generics for the name brand. Here are some of the reasons that the drugs may not be pharmaceutically equivalent to each other:

• Variations in inert ingredients
• Plants in different parts of the world may produce ingredients that vary in quality, which can affect the medications by batch or even during the manufacturing process in general. It used to be that 80% of the drug ingredients came from plants in Western Europe, but according to an article in the New York times this is changing and many ingredients are now coming from plants in China, Japan, Eastern Europe, South Korea, and India where the plants are produced more cheaply. According to the president of the National Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers only a handful of these new plants that are being produced actually meet FDA standards, while others are questionable due to the fact that it is hard to get people and to get the budget needed to have people go over and inspect those plants in question.

• The international buyouts and diversification that is allowing the combination of questionable ingredients into the production of generic drugs is another factor that was cited in the same article as the quality of the plants that are being used.
• In oral drugs the capsule content can be 7% over or 7% under the stated content. For example a 100 mg capsule can actually be as high as 107 mg or even as low as 93 mg.
• Manufacturers might shift their source of supply.
• Once a drug has been approved by the FDA the manufacturers sometimes make changes to the formula that was originally submitted for approval.
• The age of the patient might be a factor in how the medication is absorbed into the body. For example digestive tract absorption of an oral drug may be altered by a variety of factors, including higher gastric pH, accelerated gastric emptying and thinning and reduction of the absorptive surface.
• Not to mention that the FDA actually rates its drugs with codes. Drugs with an "A" code are rated as being therapeutically equivalent, while drugs with a "B" code are those that are not equivalent. What you need to be aware of is that some pharmacies actually fill prescriptions with "B" coded drugs, but as a general rule of thumb you do not want to ever use a "B" rated drug.

Bioavailability:
This refers to the drug's effectiveness. Basically with bioavailability it can be assumed that the drug's effectiveness is related to the amount of the product absorbed and the speed at which the drug is absorbed. Where this can become a problem is that in some cases the generic versions of the drugs can have a different bioavailability, which means they might be absorbed faster or slower than the name brand drug which can sometimes effect how the drug actually works. Not to mention that the bioavailability can be influenced by the increase or decrease of body fat which can be affected by the patients age or weight factor.

Bioequivalence:
This is where testing is done to determine if the drugs are functionally equivalent. What the FDA requires is that any approved generic version of a name brand drug is effective within a 20% range. What this means is that the generic drug can be 20% more or less effective than the name brand drug. And sometimes what this amounts to is that two generic drugs for the same name brand drug can be as much as 40% different from each other. Which in some cases this 20% difference can play a huge role in determining if you should take generics or stick with the name brand drugs.

But aside from those major factors there are other factors that come into play when using generics instead of name brand prescriptions. Some other considerations that you should keep in mind when deciding between name brand drugs and generic drugs are:

•     Some types of drugs can lose potency on the shelf. So what some drug companies do to help overcome this is that they increase the initial strength of the drug. And then what happens is that as the drug ages it will still provide the same therapeutic level. But what can happen is that the people who actually use this drug right after it was produced, meaning the drug never got a chance to age before it was dispensed are getting a stronger dosage of the drug and in fact can actually overdose on the medication.
•     There is a slight risk that substituting the name brand drug for a generic version can actually result in a change in the serum concentration.
•     If there is a change in the serum concentration may lead to significant adverse effects or loss of benefits
•     There is a small risk that every time you fill your prescription you can be receiving a different generic medication. And each time you get a different generic medication your body can actually change how it responds to the drug.
•    The cost for a brand name drug is always higher than that of a generic drug because the companies that make the brand name drugs usually pass the cost of making the drug, researching the drug and marketing the drug onto the consumer. What this amounts to is that after the generic comes out you can usually save at least 20% right away and that savings can increase to 60% over a period of a few years if not less.
•     Blood tests might need to be done in order to determine if the drug is working like it is supposed to. The blood tests might be necessary to determine adequate concentrations, excessive, possibly toxic concentrations or low, possibly ineffective concentrations.
•     There can be a huge amount of time spent on adjusting the dose of the drug is it has been determined that you are not getting the full benefits. Not to mention adjusting the dose can mean numerous doctors visits which can indirectly increase the cost of the medication.