Every time I pick up my medication, I see that there is a generic name but the pharmacist says there is no generic available. Why? And how do I know if the medication I’m taking is available in generic?

Every expensive brand name drug has a generic name, but the generic isn’t always available. This is because the patent hasn’t run out on the expensive yet. The manufacturer gives the chemical that it holds the patent on, a name, this is the brand name, the chemical is the generic name. The Food and Drug Administration gives a certain time period, usually 17 years, for the manufacturer to recoup the money in research and to make a profit for their chemical. After the patent runs out, any drug manufacturer who can product the exact replica, can manufacture the drug. Usually, it takes about ten year from discovery to market, giving the manufacturer about seven years to turn a profit.

Generic drugs are just as good as the expensive brand product. The FDA monitors the production of a generic with the same scrutiny that the brand drugs are under. The generics must perform in the same way as the brand in terms of dosage, mechanism of action, safety, quality, strength, how the drug is to be taken, and indication. Generic drugs are just as safe, just as strong, and often times are made in the same building using the same equipment as the expensive brands. The truth is, about 50% of all generic drugs are made in the same plant as the brands.

The time that it takes to get an approval for a generic is much less because all the research has been done. Once a manufacturer can prove that the production of the generic is the same as the brand, they will be given approval.

Generics are much less expensive for two main reasons:

The first is competition. Several different generic manufacturers are trying to sell the pharmacies their drug. In order for them to compete, the price must be low. After all, they are all selling the same product.

Another reason is advertising. Brand drug manufacturers are the ones you see on TV, in magazines, in newspapers, on the radio, when you go to your doctor’s office, on billboards, and everywhere else. This costs money and that money has to come back to the company in the form of higher prices. Generic companies don’t advertise because they are busy trying to keep cost down.

In the United States, the trademark law prohibits the generics from looking exactly like the brand. So your generic medication will be a different color, different shape, and have different markings as the brand name drug. The area in which generic differ is in the inactive ingredients. Remember, the generic companies are looking to keep prices down and may use different fillers in their tablets or capsules. The fillers do not change the activity of the medication in any way.

The most accurate way to determine if your medication has a generic is to ask the pharmacist. Since I’m a pharmacist and know how busy this profession is, I’ll give you a couple ways you can tell the difference. One way is the cost. If your medication is over $50, it’s a pretty good bet that you are getting the brand. Another way to tell is to look at your medication bottle. If the drug is capitalized, you most likely are getting a brand drug. If the name is entirely in lower case letters, you are getting the generic. And a third way is to search for your drug on the internet.

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