Information About Generic Pharmaceuticals
What Are Generic Pharmaceuticals?
Generic drugs are copies of brand name drugs. Generic pharmaceuticals contain the same active ingredients as their brand name counterparts.
When a new drug is developed, it is given a name that indicates its chemical make-up. This is called its ‘generic’ or ‘chemical’ name. This is where the terms ‘generic drugs’ and ‘generic pharmaceuticals’ originate.
The new drug is also given a brand name for marketing purposes, which is usually easier to say and remember. Patients and doctors come to know the new drug by this brand name and initially prescriptions are also written using the brand name.
After the patent on a brand name drug has expired, generic drugs are allowed to be manufactured and sold. Generic pharmaceuticals are essentially copy products and are considered therapeutically equivalent to original brand products. Because they contain the same active ingredients, equivalent brand name and generic drugs have the same chemical names.
Why Are Generic Drugs Cheaper?
Generic pharmaceuticals are usually less expensive than their brand name counterparts. This is because generic drugs are essentially ‘copies’ of the original brand name product and there is therefore no investment required in discovering them and significantly less investment required in developing them.
Generic drugs have been reported to save U.S. consumers an estimated $US 8-10 billion a year (1). In 2000, generic pharmaceuticals accounted for 42% of all drugs sold in the U.S., and yet this represented only 8% of total dollar value of pharmaceutical sales (1). In the same year, the average price of generic drugs was $19.33 while the average price of a brand name prescription was $65.29 (2).
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Safety & Quality of Generic Pharmaceuticals
The approval process for generic drugs is rigorous in all countries Value Pharmaceuticals suppliers source their products from. A company that manufactures generic drugs needs to prove that they are as effective and safe as their brand name counterparts. The company must show that their generic pharmaceuticals have the same effect in the body and are manufactured to the same high standards before they can be registered and therefore sold to patients.
Value Pharmaceuticals pharmacies source high quality generic products only from pharmaceutical manufacturers that comply with strict international manufacturing standards. This means that any generic product supplied to a Value Pharmaceuticals customer has complied with robust internationally accepted quality standards. The safety and quality of all generic pharmaceuticals available on this site are without question.
Most of the generic products available from Value Pharmaceuticals are sourced from western European countries. Some of the generic products are sourced from internationally approved pharmaceutical manufacturers from India and these are identified during the ordering process.
The key companies that our suppliers source Indian generic pharmaceuticals from are:
The links provided will take you to the respective company websites which have information to show that their manufacturing facilities have been inspected to meet the robust standards of the FDA as well as other internationally recognised regulatory authorities.
To view our Product Catalogue, including the selection of generic drugs we offer, please click here.
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Switching to Generics Drugs
Are you thinking of switching to use generic pharmaceuticals? Health authorities recommend that patients contact their doctor before switching to generic drugs.
Many brand name drugs have equivalent generic drugs available. In the U.S., almost half of all prescriptions filled in 2002 were for generic pharmaceuticals. Over the next two years it is expected that more than two thirds of all prescriptions will be filled with generic drugs (3). These generic pharmaceuticals will not only be supplied on generic prescriptions. This is because in the U.S. most states allow
pharmacists to substitute generic drugs on prescriptions with the doctor’s approval even though a brand name product may have initially been prescribed.
If after seeking your doctor’s approval you decide to purchase generic drugs through Value Pharmaceuticals, you can expect to receive the same clinical effect as with their brand name counterparts, but for a considerably reduced cost!
However, there are a small number of brand name drugs with which great care should be taken when substituting generic pharmaceuticals. These are drugs that have what is termed a ‘narrow therapeutic index’. This means that for these drugs a small variation in dose can cause problems, such as too little effectiveness or too many side effects. In these few cases, a patient should only switch after consulting with
their doctor and then do so only with his or her approval and close supervision. To view a list of drugs with a narrow therapeutic index, click here.
International Nonproprietary Names
An 'International Nonproprietary Name' (INN) is the official chemical name (nonproprietary
name) given to a pharmaceutical substance as designated by the World Health
Organisation (WHO). The proprietary name is the brand name.
i.e; Prozac = proprietary name,
fluoxetine hydrochloride = nonproprietary name.
Click here to read about International Nonproprietary
Names
The intention of an INN is to ensure there is a standard name for each
chemical substance across the world. Occasionally, the United States and/or
Britain may designate their own nonproprietary name for a particular substance,
rather than adhering to the INN. In such instances, the nonproprietary name may
be referred to as a 'United States Adopted Name' (USAN) or as a 'British
Approved Name' (BAN). Sometimes the USAN or the BAN can differ from the INN.
This is the case with the nonproprietary name for the common asthma product;
Ventolin. The INN and the BAN for Ventolin is salbutamol, while the USAN is
albuterol.
Click
here to read about salbutamol and albuterol
Another example is the commonly used diuretic Lasix. The INN and the USAN is
furosemide, while frusemide is the nonproprietary name that the British
approved.
Click
here to read about furosemide and frusemide
To view our Product Catalogue, including the selection of generic drugs we offer, please
click here.
References:
1. FDA Centre for Drug Evaluation and Research, “What are Generic Drugs”, Updated 2003
2. D & MD Publications, Report #9043 (Executive Summary), 2002
3. Milt Freudenheim, The International Herald Tribune, "U.S. Facing Generic Drug Price
Climb", 28 December 2002
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