Generic Drugs vs Branded Drugs
Generic drugs are shifting the paradigm from expensive healthcare treatments to affordable healthcare accessible to all.
Generic companies develop a wide variety of therapeutics ranging from OTC care to lifesaving medicines, addressing global demand for affordable and critical everyday healthcare.
What are Branded Drugs?
Branded drugs are the newer drug moieties developed by a company and are patented and sold by the exclusive drug development company.
What are Generic Drugs?
Generic drugs are the bioequivalent copies developed after the expiry of the patents.
The local players tends to develop the same drug moieties at an affordable cost.
Why are Generic Drugs Affordable?
Generic drugs are developed excluding the clinical trials and extensive research, aligning with the already developed drug moieties.
Are Generic Drugs Safe?
Generic drugs ensure the same safety profile as the branded drugs.
They have the same active ingredients, same therapeutic efficacy.
Does Generic Drugs Undergo Any Testing?
Generic drugs undergo the same standard protocols, ensuring safety and efficacy.
- • Bioavailability studies and bioequivalent testing.
- • Regulatory approvals prior to marketing
- • Stability testing
- • Quality control and assurance
- • Inspections for manufacturing units
- • Post-market surveillance
Benefits of Generic Drugs
- • Affordability: Generic drugs are cost-efficient; generic drug development reduces the cost by 80 percent.
- • Improved Accessibility:Generic drugs available at much lower prices are accessible to all socio-economic strata of the society.
- • Increased Competition: Several players delve into the market, encouraging drug development and price control.
- • Therapeutic Equivalence: The generic drugs offers not less or not more, they are equivalent to the branded drugs with same drug release profile and bioavailability.
- • Varied Availability: Generic drugs available in varied forms and in a vast variety increase options to better, affordable healthcare.
Examples of Generic Drugs
- • Paracetamol – generic drug name
- • Calpol – branded version
- • Bleokey (Bleomycin Sulphate) – oncology generic
- • Entekor (Entecavir) – antiviral generic
What’s the Difference?
- • Inactive Ingredients(excipients) : The inactive ingredients are used for the manufacturing process, like for binding or added as lubricant. They do not show any therapeutic activity.
- • Packaging: The generic drugs are different in packing then branded drugs ,different trademark and may use different packaging for better patient compliance without compromising bioavailability or bio-equivalence
- • Appearance: Generic drugs may have difference in shape, drug color and appearance with different monograms.
Conclusion
Generic drugs offer a wide variety of affordable treatment options.
They are the biquivalent copies offering uncompromised quality.
“A wider choice for safer, affordable care.”