You may have been asked when you have gone to the pharmacy to fill a prescription if you would like to try the generic version of the drug. Some people are unsure about what it is that generic drugs are exactly. If you take medications regularly, then you should know about these types of drugs in order to decide whether or not to use them.
There are new medications that are being constantly researched and developed by pharmaceutical companies. When they have come up with a new medicine that they want to release, they have to patent it and have it approved for use by the FDA. Having a patent stops other companies from developing the same medications and protects the original company’s significant financial investment.
When the drug patent is nearing expiration, other companies can then apply to be allowed to manufacture that medication too. The drugs that are manufactured by companies other than the one that created the drug are known as generics. These are composed the same way as the original medicine, but they are less expensive for the consumer to buy at the point of sale.
There are a few reasons the costs are lower on generic medications. The first is that developing medications is expensive and the company has to recoup the costs they incurred in creating the medicine. Next there are usually high marketing and advertising costs that are associated with a new medication. Advertising is done to the public, as well as to health professionals such as doctors and pharmacists. There are medical representatives who are sent to visit them and leave samples and merchandising materials.
Some people worry that because they are buying a cheaper version of the drug that it is inferior in some way. This is a major misconception about generics. A company cannot create a generic version of a drug without first having approval from the government and to do this the strength, actives, composition and safety of the medication is stringently tested.
There are a couple of other misconceptions people have about generic drugs. One of these is that they are not as strong or that they take a longer time to be absorbed and work in your body: this is untrue, they work in exactly the same way as the brand name does. Other people have the idea that the cheaper version is manufactured in sub-standard facilities to the brand version and this is also completely untrue.
Although the generic and the brand medications are chemically the same, they may look different. The laws relating to generics do not allow the drugs to look identical to each other. For this reason you might find they are different colors or shapes than the original medication.
Generic drugs are just the same as the name brand medication. They may not always be available for the medication that you take, but there are many generic drugs that are available these days. Buying generic drugs can save you money on the cost of your medication without compromising your health.