Comments on: The truth about generic drugs

By: Ben, Flemington, NJ

Ben, Flemington, NJ — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 20:26:43 +0000

MediaCurves.com just conducted a national study with 966 viewers of a news clip highlighting the potential dangers of generic brand drugs. illustrating the dangers of texting and driving. Results showed that nearly half of viewers (46%) reported that they are less likely to purchase generic drugs after watching the video. The study also found that 66% of viewers had a more negative perception of generic brand drugs after watching the news clip. More in-depth results can be viewed at http://www.mediacurves.com/HealthCare/J7539-Generic-Drugs/Index.cfm
Thanks,
Ben

By: ken, salt lake city, ut

ken, salt lake city, ut — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 05:51:02 +0000

As a practicing internal medicine physician, it troubles me to see the misperceptions regarding the effectiveness of generics compared to their branded counterparts. I have been in practice 23 years and have found for the most part generic medicines approved by the FDA to be interchangeable with their branded counterparts to be equally effective and safe. There are a limited number of medications, so called “narrow therapeutic index” medications, medications for which the window of effectiveness vs toxicity is narrow, may warrant the use of branded medications due to their the limitation in dose delivery variability due to their single source, but this can also occur with some of the single source “branded” generics that have become available. Overall, I beleive most physicians recognize generic medications to be equally safe and effective and the cost effective alternative for patients who are increasingly bearing more and more of the costs of their healthcare.

By: Paul L, Syracuse, NY

Paul L, Syracuse, NY — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:36:36 +0000

I am a pharmacist and have worked in both the retail setting caring for patients and in the PBM industry trying to help make prescription drugs affordable for insurers. Reality is that we need both brand and generic drugs. I the retail setting generics worked fine for 99.9 percent of my patients. Sometimes switching to another generic manufacturer would resolve the issue, sometimes back to the brand name, but the vast majority did fine with an FDA approved generic (FDA also allows variations within branded products from batch to batch).

While working at a PBM, yes generics generally cost less and save the employer (who generally provides and pays for the majority of the health insurance), the consumer (lower out of pocket costs) and the system money and the majority of people can take without any difference in their health compared to the branded product. Why not encourage their use?

When generics were first allowed it was warned that their would be no more research and development on medications and they would put brand name pharmaceutical manufacturers out of business. That did not happen. As any company does when their environment changes they adapt and survive, follow on biologics will not change this and have the potential to save the consumer and the health care system money.

There is a place for both brand and generic drugs in the marketplace. Will generics work for everyone 100% of the time, no, but in 99.9% of the cases they will.

By: John Ciufo RPh East Northport NY

John Ciufo RPh East Northport NY — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:58:52 +0000

I am a practicing Pharmacist who regularly assists patients, Physicians in getting more value by recommending generics in addition to using drugs appropriately to maximize therapy.
Generics present great value to the consumer, health insurers and many times this decision supports patients taking or continuing on potentially life-saving drugs. I personmally taake 7 meds of which I have used consistently (6)generics for over 7 years.
Many of our patients thank us Pharmacists when we educate them on alternative generics and contact their providers. As with any drug we regularly review the appropriateness of drug dosage- including allergy’s, adverse drug reactions finding there is no difference in Brand or generic drugs in this arena.

By: Doug Sacramento CA

Doug Sacramento CA — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:30:05 +0000

The use of generic drugs verses branded drugs is an interesting and far more complex discussion that what cost less and who makes how much money.
Branded manufacturer often license and manufacturer products for generic distributors a category referred to as authorized generics. Also branded companies will simply change promotion to a new salt form or prodcue a new tablet form to extend patent life. Some manufacturers will even study their drug for a new indication file a New Drug Application and simply rename the product so that as the patent expires on the original product the generic product can not be used for the new indication. Wellbutrin/Xyban Prozac/Serafim are examples of this process. When it comes to quality there have been demonstrated variances beween batches in branded products as well as generic products. The bottom line do your research. One other point you should be aware of there are drug products in the market today where only a generic prodcut is available and it has been that way for years.

By: Walter, Levittown, NY

Walter, Levittown, NY — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:15:42 +0000

Talk about profits, If you want to cut healthcare costs Look at the profits being made by the PBMs like UHC. They do no research,produce no products,push contracts and paper and they make billions, more than even the manufacturers. Its time the government looked at all parts of the heathcare costs especially the fat middle man (PBMS) who are profiting by making deals to be on formulary lists with generic manufacturers to force the generics on the public. It is the same process and labor for the pharmacy to fill a brand medication vs. a generic and the PBM pays the pharmacy less when they dispense generics. The profits being made by the PBMS is astronomical. And Nobody cares to scrutinize them.

By: tom raleigh,NC

tom raleigh,NC — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:12:18 +0000

I have read through many of he comments below and I find it interesting the lack of knowledge around this topic specifically, and around healthcare in general. I feel there is a place for branded drugs as well as generic drugs. The big pharma companies are bringing innovative products that improve one’s quality of life in most cases. Do you realize that the biggest expense in our healthcare system is hospital stays? many of the products Big Pharma brings to market help to minimize hospital stays and therefore reduce overall healthcare costs. Let’s face it our healthcare system needs an overhaul. Generic products have a place in our healthcare system, but be careful what you wish for! If Big Pharma doesn’t supply us with innovative products for many of the new diseases that are becoming more and more prevalent we, the U.S., will end up with a single payer health system as is the case in Canada and many countries in Europe. Do you really want to wait a month to get the angioplasty you need or wait 6 months for hip replacement surgery. I would advise everyone to educate themselves on our healthcare system. It needs some reform, but is still the best in the world!

By: Jonathon, Paducah, KY

Jonathon, Paducah, KY — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:54:50 +0000

I do not think it is fair to say that generics are identical to branded pharmaceuticals. Generic dugs have to be 80% equivilant to the branded pharmaceuticals. Also, do you think that generic drugs might drive up the cost of branded drugs? Think about this, when a branded drug files it NDC the product has a 17 year patent life. If the drug goes through 12 years of being studied and then is approved for the market. This allows companies to market that product for the length of 5 years . This gives the company only 5 years to make back the money invested and a profit. It seems to me that knowing a generic will be in play 5 years later would drives up the price of the branded product. So in essence would the generic drugs drive up the cost of branded drugs. Also, I don’t think generic company’s develop new products all they do is copy cat what is already out there. Generic company’s do not have to develop or study the products they produce, therefore they have minimum overhead. It seems to me the more we push for generic drugs the price of branded drugs seem to soar. This happens because the market for branded products shrinks and the company’s have to charge more to get repaid for investing and to make some profit in a short period of time. The tragedy will be if the branded pharmaceutical companies pull out and do not develop new drugs! What will happen to my children and my childrens children when new diseases evolve? Generic companies do not develop new drugs. We need to be careful when we look at this issue. We cannot be one sided. My suggestion is to change the patent system for branded pharmaceutical products. My solution is make the patenet start when the drug hits the market, then the branded company has 17 year to market the product. With this change in patent protection make the companies charge less for products. The consumer wins becouse the cost is shifted to more people over a longer period of time and the companies can have more longevity to develop new drugs. I think there are some real answers to our healthcare issues, but we need to think simple.

By: Tom, Yuma az

Tom, Yuma az — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 04:06:05 +0000

Of course she is sponsoring the generic venue. The profit is up to 300 times the value of what they get for name brand products.
Take a look at what generics bring in VS brand name, there is no comparison. Her comments are self serving.

By: Brandon, Boise, ID

Brandon, Boise, ID — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:45:37 +0000

I am disturbed by the unscientific attacks on generic drugs. The FDA approves the drugs based upon criteria for equivalence between the generic and the brand name drug. The FDA exercises judgement based upon science when doing so. I am aware of only one major peer-reviewed study comparing brand name drugs against their generic counterparts in heart drugs (JAMA 2008). The study found that the brand name drugs were not superior to the generics. If brand name drug makers really wanted to prove that their drugs were superior, they would show it through scientific studies. Instead they use shills to report anecdotally through disease advocacy groups that the generics are substandard. Brand name drug makers spend lots of money on scientific research and development–why can’t they do the same comparing their drugs to generics? My guess is they wouldn’t like what they might find.

By: JB, Berkeley, CA

JB, Berkeley, CA — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:31:40 +0000

Great article Jessica. I still can’t stomach the jabs at the system that our elected representatives have created. If you want to give drug makers longer exclusivity, write your Congressman, pull out your wallet and pay away. Drug makers hire more lobbyists than almost anyone else in Washington, DC and each state capitol to keep the laws from changing. Especially those laws that allow spurious lawsuits against the generic drug makers to delay them from competing as long as possible. Why not? Billions are at stake and that can buy a lot of lawyers to delay a new generic from competing against a monopoly the brand drug maker has had for years. They didn’t have the best stock value before the bust last year for no reason. And who is the bigger parasite–a generic drug maker following the laws our Congress made or a brand drug maker stonewalling after losing their patent using far more lobbyists and lawyers than the meager generic industry has every put forth?

By: Chris,Cincinnati,OH

Chris,Cincinnati,OH — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:34:55 +0000

how about changing the patent laws to be similar to other countries such as Canada and Europe? Some popular drugs such as Seroquel, which can list for over $700.00 for a months supply here in the US are available as a generic in Canada for far less. I get a 3 month supply of the Canadian generic for less than I pay for 1 month in the US. The Canadian version of the FDA maintains a great website for researching the various generic manufacturers of a drug. We pay the most for our drugs in the US, while everyone else in the world benefits for far less!

By: TimB, Houston, TX

TimB, Houston, TX — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:19:53 +0000

Interesting problem. Big Pharma has always had the ability to squeeze out any Generic companies – by aggressively lowering brand-name prices at end-of-patent. Their economic models must say that this works — but some companies have been pushed to the brink (like when Lilly lost their Prozac patent).

On the other hand – what is the end-game here? Remove enough of Big Pharma’s revenue stream, and some day in the distant future, there might not be any new drugs to copy.

By: JohnRPh, San Francisco, CA

JohnRPh, San Francisco, CA — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:41:49 +0000

As a pharmacist, I have seen patients who can’t afford their medications and need affordable alternatives. Generic drugs provide them options that don’t brake the bank. As a consumer, I use generic drugs as do my parents and my children. I take one branded drug which isn’t available generically–when a generic becomes availabe I will change to it. I could afford to do otherwise but for me it would be a waste of money. I have yet to see a treatment failure because of generic drug use.

By: Dave, Providence, RI

Dave, Providence, RI — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:35:34 +0000

As a biologist, I can tell you that I will NEVER take a generic biologic product that has not had full clinical trials. And I ALWAYS take generic pharmaceutical products when there is an option.

People and governments need to be educated- biologic products are orders of magnitude more complex than small molecule drugs- the side effects, effectivess, even safety may not be the same as the original drug. (they could be either better or worse)

Don’t trust anyone who tells you otherwise. I fear we will learn this the hard way.

By: Ryan, San diego, CA.

Ryan, San diego, CA. — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:27:39 +0000

Jessica Shambora and the editor who allowed this ariticle to be published should be ashamed of themselves. “You may already know that generics are identical to brand-name drugs”???? Did you even do any research before writing this? Sickening that people write this sort of thing and post it on the internet. Do your homework next time Jessica but just to get you started; the FDA allows for a 20%-25% Variance in bioavailablity. “identical”? embarrassing!

By: BR, Philadelphia, PA

BR, Philadelphia, PA — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:12:53 +0000

When are we going to see some facts and data? Generics are not identical as the inactive ingredients may differ. When is someone going to report the truth? Not all drugs work the same for brand and generic, and we the consumers can attest to that when we feel the physical effects. So let’s get some truth in reporting and go out and ask people WHY they feel generics are not as good, ask them what drugs they are taking and how well it works, that’s data!

By: Jeff Webster, San Antonio, TX

Jeff Webster, San Antonio, TX — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 03:57:21 +0000

The basis of the article is incorrect. Generics are NOT identical to branded meds. Please do some research and you will find generics are allowed a high level of effectivness vs the branded. You do not always get the same results with generics.

By: Joe, Irvine, CA

Joe, Irvine, CA — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:42:42 +0000

It's really a mixed bag. While generics are less expensive and tend to work just as well, they're sometimes made to a lower standard than name brand drugs. Also, the name brand companies are the ones doing the research to find the drugs in the first place, and they only get a relatively short period of time to recoup their R&D before the generics hit the market. That behind said, the drug companies in general make a rediculous amount of money in large part due to the number of people who prefer name brand drugs and continue to purchase name brand after generics become available. As far as I'm concerned, the best plan is to take as few drugs as possible in the first place. The population of our country is way over medicated anyway. fat burning diet

By: LLD, NY, NY

LLD, NY, NY — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:07:25 +0000

I began my career as a pharmaceutical chemist. Without a doubt the “active ingredients” in generic and branded drugs may be the same. There are, however, important differences in the fillers, purification processes, and other additives that are bound to the medication. These may inhibit absorption or cause differences in the way a medication is metabolized. It is never an equal substitution to replace a branded medication with a generic one. Insurance companies are ignoring considerable research that speaks to the issues of generics in favor of fattening their bottom line. Not the place to put your decision-making prowess.