Brand Names And Generic Medicine

[ILostHer]

I just wondered the genral concensus on generic drugs, I do a lot of research into what I am taking/going to take and have read that generic forms have 'fillers' in them and therefore less effective or just don't work.

I am seeing my psych on Tuesday who is starting me on Wellbutrin but I want the brand name one and not the generic but it's not licensed in the UK so not sure I can. It's doing my head in as I don't want to be put on a generic form and it do bugger all for me.

So does anyone have any opinions on the differences between brand name and generic drugs?

[starryeyesee]

Hi

I hadn't heard about the "fillers" in generic drugs. I read somewhere (maybe wiki) that brand names became generic because they were popular and cheaper to produce

hope this helps

starry xx

[Jemmy]

Same as Starry, my understanding is that for example whatever drugs company invented Prozac they had license for 3 years or so, so no one else could make it, then after a period of time other company's can make it using the generic name fluoxetine. Of course in the UK we are prescribed fluoxetine as it is much cheaper. Much like Ibuprofen and Nurofen. When Nurofen first came about in the 1980's it was very expensive, now we cheaply buy Ibuprofen which is the drug that stops the pain. Hope that makes some sense.xx

[ILostHer]

Thank you both, that makes sense. I think I am paniking because drugs rarely tend to help me and I read people saying that the genric drugs don't work as well.

But you've both explained it in a much simpler way than the way I read!

Thanks again xx

[Myla]

Same as Starry, my understanding is that for example whatever drugs company invented Prozac they had license for 3 years or so, so no one else could make it, then after a period of time other company's can make it using the generic name fluoxetine. Of course in the UK we are prescribed fluoxetine as it is much cheaper. Much like Ibuprofen and Nurofen. When Nurofen first came about in the 1980's it was very expensive, now we cheaply buy Ibuprofen which is the drug that stops the pain. Hope that makes some sense.xx

This is also my understanding.

But the only thing I can think of is that because the fillers may differ between generic and brand name drugs that somehow absorption into gut wall and the blood stream etc is affected. And as a consequence the distribution of the "drug" bit to its target (eg brain etc) isn't as efficient in the generic. This is just me hypothesising though. I'm on my first generic (venlafaxine). Can't say I'm noticing any difference to when I was on the branded Effexor XL a number of years ago. I wasn't convinced then that it was doing me much good and I'm still not convinced now.

[Data]

I don't believe generic medicines work any less well than the branded ones. Ibuprofen, for example, is just as effective as Nurofen.

Both generic and branded medicines contain things like fillers, to bulk the product out. Otherwise, if you were taking 25mg of something, and it was pure, the size of the tablet would be like a grain of sand.

[stjaninaro]

Have to say, since I started the generic brand of Olanzapine I've noticed it's much more effective for me than Zyprexa. Probably the exception, rather than the rule though.

[doormouse]

Generic and branded drugs contain exactly the same active ingredients. Any two forms of the same drug - whether generic or different brands - can contain different salts etc to actually make up the tablets themselves. Like different flavours of calpol - they're both paracetamol syrup!

There is no known reason why this should make them more or less effective - sometimes drug companies will change the makeup of a drug because they claim it makes it more effective through better absoption or whatever, but the clinical trials often don't show any significant difference. It does, however, make the drug company a lot of money.....

Makes me kinda cross actually - that "nuromol" advert for example - their "scientists" who spent "years" developing this magic new painkiller are clearly morons who hadn't realised that we'd been combining paracetamol and ibuprofen for years, just hadn't thought to put it in one tablet and make a huge profit from it!

The NHS generally prefers the generic forms of drugs because they are cheaper, but if there isn't a generic - as others have said, if a drug is new and there is only one form - then we prescribe the brand.

I promise that whatever box it comes in - your meds will be the same thing!

Mousexx

[ILostHer]

Thanks everyone, I feel reassured now that which ever type he gives me on Tuesday will work.

I am on the generic form of Ritalin at the moment and that seems to work okay, so I suppose I should stop worrying.

You know what it's like though, well you feel like hell and just want something to change that, you get kind of desperate! xx

[toaster]

I know this may seem weird but think of it this way - iphone had their rights to android for 3 years - after that any company could bring out an android phone.

I have an android phone - it isnt an iphone but only because the name says as such! Everything else is the same, I can even get itunes on it if I wanted

xx