What is a Generic Drug?
A generic drug (generic drugs, short: generics) is
a drug which is produced and distributed without
patent protection. The generic drug may still have a
patent on the formulation but not on the active
ingredient.
A generic must contain the same active ingredients
as the original formulation. According to the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA), generic drugs are
identical or within an acceptable bioequivalent range
to the brand name counterpart with respect to
pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. By
extension, therefore, generics are considered (by the
FDA) identical in dose, strength, route of
administration, safety, efficacy, and intended use.
The FDA's use of the word identical is very much a
legal interpretation, and is not literal. In most
cases, generic products are available once the patent
protections afforded to the original developer have
expired. When generic products become available, the
market competition often leads to substantially lower
prices for both the original brand name product and
the generic forms. The time it takes a generic drug to
appear on the market varies. In the US, drug patents
give twenty years of protection, but they are applied
for before clinical trials begin, so the effective
life of a drug patent tends to be between seven and
twelve years.
The Economics of Generic Drugs
Generic drugs can save patients and insurance
companies substantial costs. The principal reason for
the relatively low price of generic medicines is that
competition increases among producers when drugs no
longer are protected by patents. Companies incur fewer
costs in creating the generic drug, and are therefore
able to maintain profitability at a lower cost to
consumers. The costs of these generic drugs are so low
that many developing countries can easily afford them.
For example Thailand is going to import millions of
doses of the generic version of Plavix, a
blood-thinning treatment to prevent heart attacks, at
a cost of 3 US cents per dose from India, the leading
manufacturer of generic drugs.
Thus Generic Drugs or Generics have the Same
High Quality at a Lower price and have the same
active ingredients
For more information go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_drug
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