The price for prescription medication is a problem for a lot of people living in America. This is an old problem. The problem is becoming greater as more people lack insurance. Because prescription medications can be so costly, many seek lower cost alternatives to their prescription medications. These prescription drugs should not be considered a luxury. Frequently, people would either die without them or they would lead a life of lesser quality. They choose generic drugs.

Does a Difference Exist?

When you receive a prescription from your physician, have you ever noticed that there are two signature lines at the bottom of the form? One sentence states in small letters under it, “Product Selection Allowed” and the other sentence states something about, “Dispense According to Prescription.”

Basically, this implies, considering which line the doctor put his signature on, the pharmacy or the customer has the option of picking a brand name medication or a lower priced generic medication of the exact drug. Certainly, medicine manufacturers who created and have a patent for the medicine want you to think that the brand name is better than the generic medication. Generic drug manufacturers insist that the two medications are similar in almost every respect.

Which would be correct?

If one compares a brand name medication to its generic drug equivalent, one will find that both contain the same active ingredient, the same dose of the active ingredient and share the same method of administration, intended use, strength, risks and side effects.

The primary difference between the brand name drug and the generic drug price is that the brand name medication is costlier due to the costs the manufacturer incurred due to research, development, testing, and patent costs. The original manufacturer of the drug has rights to sole use of that specific brand name. In fact, for a certain amount of time, that manufacturer is the only one that can sell the medication they developed and tested.

Generic drug companies do not have to invest a lot of money into manufacturing and testing the medication, since they rely on the work done previously by the company that developed the drug. Although the Food and Drug Administration (known as the FDA) stipulates that every drug company have efficacy tests (to be certain that the potent ingredient is appropriately dissolved so it is usable), the initial testing and development research expenses are not necessary for the generic drug business.

Does a Difference Exist?

Also, when the patent date is expired for the brand name medication, if various generic drug creators put in an application with FDA to make a generic form of the drug, the larger number of businesses who apply to make a generic drug, the more rivalry for the generic drug cost, and the generic form will have a lower price.

The FDA demands that generic as well as brand name medications be examined for potency, and legally the generic drug is obligated to function at the same standard as the brand name medication. When compared to brand name medications, the generic does not work any slower or have any less strength or effectiveness. Generic drugs must be manufactured under the same quality control standards as those that pertain to the brand name drug.

So generally, this indicates that there isn’t any real difference between a generic and a name brand prescription medication except for the cost. If this were true, why does a doctor prescribe a medicine that is a more expensive brand name instead of the generic which is cheaper?

Generic drugs might look different from a brand name medicine, since the generic drug manufacturer, although obligated to use the exact potent ingredient as the name brand drug, can use various inert ingredients. Inert ingredients do not effect how the medication works and include such things as binding agents that help shape the generic medication, food coloring that provides its unique coloration, and flavorings or other substances that do not have any effect on the way the drug works or how well it works. Occasionally an inert ingredient will cause a person to experience an allergic reaction.  It is also possible for these ingredients to react badly to certain other medications. This would be the reason a doctor may decide to prescribe the name brand medicine rather than the generic which is less expensive.

In conclusion, there isn’t any real variation between generic medication and name brand medication except for the cost, unless your physician precisely asks for the name brand medication on your prescription. You can realize quite a bit of savings by requesting the generic version of any medication that is prescribed for you, and the quality and effectiveness are similar.