Are the generic medicines less effective than the branded ones?

Answer 1

Generic medications and brand name drugs are considered to be therapeutically equivalent - menaing that they are the same dosage form, have the same active ingredient in it and have passed rigorous in vivo (in the body) tests to assure that they act the same way in the body. However, that being said, some medications, specifically ones where mental issues come into play, like anti-scizophrenic drugs, the patient can effect the outcome. There are many instances of patients such as these decompensating or otherwise suffering adverse effects when switching from the brand to generic or vice versa. It doesn't mean that one is less effective, it just means that the patient perceives it to be different. There have been studies that when the brand and generic look exactly the same, this doesn't happen.

The other time that brand and generic are not "identical" is in drugs that have a narrow therapeutic range, or requiring titrating or monitoring to assure that the correct dose is given. An example of this is thyroid medications. Most doctors prefer not to switch their patients, becasue of the increased monitoring. Not to say the brand is better - but just that there might have to be minor tweaks in the dosage.

As for over the counter drugs - any drug that requires FDA approval prior to marketing that is OTC - like Claritin and its generics, require the same rigorous approval process that prescription drugs require. Other OTC medications, like aspirin, are considered "Monograph", which means that they don't need prior approval for selling it - all you need is an approved manufacturing facility. They are required to test to certain standards, but there is no requirement to test in human subjects.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

According to the FDA, they have the same effectiveness. When a drug company develops a new drug, they spent a lot of money in research and in getting the proper permits and such from the FDA. In order to be able to recoup the large amounts of money they spent in doing this (and it is usually in the millions and millions of dollars), the FDA allows the company to have a monopoly on the drug for a certain number of years. In other words, they make their own branded product and no other company is allowed to sell that product during that time. Drugs are made with an active ingredient or ingredients - these are the materials that is actually the medicine. But you usually just can't take that medicine in its pure form (it may taste horrible, it may need to be pressed into a tablet form so you can swallow it, etc.) so they add other ingredients to it so that you can take the pill, or liquid, or whatever. These additives (inactive ingredients) don't do anything except carry the medicine (active ingredient) to where your body can absorb it. (Like when you take aspirin - the entire pill isn't an aspirin, most of the ingredients are there to help make the stuff into pill shape and keep it that way, and then carry it into your body, and then break the pill apart when it hits your stomach. Check the label and you'll see a list of ingredients - not just the aspirin itself.) Eventually, the drug comes "off patent" which means that the original company that developed it no longer has the patent on the main ingredient, but it still does have a patent on the entire medicine. So other companies can then come along and make their own, generic drugs using the active ingredient, but then they have to slightly change the amounts of the inactive ingredients or else use different ones that are also as effective (the FDA has a list of these pre-approved ingredients, called GRAS, which companies are permitted to use without having to do massive amounts of research). So, the active ingredients, or the actual medicine itself, is the same. The only difference between the generics and the branded medicines are the inactives that are added.

Answer 3

The effectiveness of generic medication depends on the body and mentality of the person taking the medication. Some people's body only respond to brand name prescriptions. This response to brand only prescriptions may also be a placebo effect.

Generic prescriptions can be as effective as brand name medication but everyone reacts to it differently.

Answer 4

In my experience they work just as well as the name brands 98% of the time. The only negative experience I've had was with something long term, not antibiotics or anything for an accute problem.

Answer 5

Generic Medications are no less effective then brand names, infact if you look at the ingredites they are almost identicle and the active ingredient is identicle.

Answer 6

Usually they are exactly the same. Sometimes the brand names are more expensive because people buy them more due to better marketing techniques. If you compare the active drug ingredients you will almost always find that they are the same and they will work the same.... you will just have a few more bucks in your pocket! :)

Answer 7

In general, no.

Answer 8

No, they are exactly the same and much cheaper. I always buy generics.

Answer 9

prescription-no
over the counter-yes

Answer 10

sometimes.you just have to experiment.