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Thread: Generic drugs. Rant

  1. #1
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    Generic drugs. Rant

    im not entirely sure I trust them. I know they are supposed to be "equivalent" ingredients. There are other factors in drug compounding beside ingredients. Evidently, there is little or no independent or government regulation or control and the little oversight that does exist largely accepts the makers word that their drugs are the same. I simply do not trust that and believe it offers too many opportunities for manipulation by the unethical. What guarantee is there that the maintanance drug I take daily actually is 100 percent the same as the non generic. Who has checked it to even make sure it's at least similar? Without independent assurance why should I believe it is? For all I know, those capsules I take daily might just be filled with radio active dirt from China (yeah I know, that's extreme). The same goes for non prescription health "supplements". There was recent news about supplements and the fact that a large percentage were not what the claimed to be, were ineffective and potentially harmful.
    And something else. Referencing a link in another thread about prescriptions I checked the non generic vs generic costs for this particular drug. Generic cost is less than 7 bucks a month while non-generic is over 500 dollars a month. This drug has been around for decades. Development costs surely cannot account for that difference after decades. its almost like the manufacturer is forcing generic use by overpricing. No insurance is going to pay that differential. Somehow this just doesn't add up for me. I'd love having my mind put at rest about all this if I'm mistaken or just being paranoid but think there is just too much room for abuse.
    Rant off.
    My three favorite things are the Oxford comma, irony and missed opportunities

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  2. #2
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    If the original is $500 a month, then people must be paying it. The drug company would charge what the market will bear ?

    Synthesis of most drugs in a lab isn't difficult, but coming up with the synthesis is the real talent.

  3. #3
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    I get generics whenever I can. I am actually more apprehensive about the "latest, greatest" pill for whatever and the list of possible side effects that sound worse than the original condition.

    From Consumer Reports:
    Indeed, the drugs—copies of brand-name medication whose patents have expired—contain the identical active ingredients in the same quantity. And because brand-name drugs are prescribed for many years before they can be copied, their generic clones are considered, by extension, “tried and true.” Overall, generic drugs appear no more likely than brand-name drugs to pose risks.
    But generic and branded drugs do differ in one important area: price. Generics can cost up to 95 percent less because manufacturers don’t have the expense of developing them from scratch and rarely spend money on advertising. The lower price not only helps your wallet but might also help your health. Research suggests that people who use generics are more likely to stay on the drugs as directed, compared with those who use costlier brand-name drugs. Below we examine the concerns about generic drugs and help you weigh the evidence.
    From: What are generic drugs and are they safe? Despite widespread use, our survey shows concerns persist
    Published: August 2012
    http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2...safe/index.htm
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  4. #4
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    Michael,

    Generic drugs are controlled by the FDA, must prove their effectiveness, safety, content and manufacturing processes. See this link:

    http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/Cons.../ucm340343.htm

    Health supplements to my knowledge are a totally different subject.

    I take 3 generic drugs, a multi-vitamin and as recently suggested by my personal physician, fish oil capsules.

    My wife, OTOH, is a vitamin, mineral junky.

    In both our cases, our personal physicians know what we are taking and neither of them have had anything bad to say about what we take.

    Of interest, I was prescribed on brand name statin to control my cholesterol. I had a reaction to it in that I developed joint pain. On the phone with my youngest son's wife, a pharmacist, I asked her about the pain relative to the recently prescribed statin. She asked me when I was supposed to see my doctor. I told her in 3 days. She told me if it was any longer than that, she'd recommend I quit taking it until I spoke with him. He put me on a generic statin and the joint/muscular pain went away. The generic controls my cholesterol.
    Last edited by Ken Fitzgerald; 08-17-2016 at 2:07 PM.
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  5. #5
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    The FDA requires that foreign providers of generics provide data proving the effectiveness of their product. That is what the FDA calls verification. The FDA itself does not test the drugs. Also the FDA depends on manufacturing data from foreign manufactures to assure quality control. This data can and has been changed or deleted to provide rosy results. Particular problems continue in India which provides over 40% of OTC generics in the US, and in China. The FDA has never had the resources to adequately monitor these foreign sites. Recently, in an effort at verification the FDA began an actual testing program involving university research studies. Just having this program may encourage better foreign compliance.
    http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2014/...-for-patients/
    Just reading about that makes me feel better about the situation which until now depended on fox in the hen house assurances from foreign suppliers.
    My three favorite things are the Oxford comma, irony and missed opportunities

    The problem with humanity is: we have paleolithic emotions; medieval institutions; and God-like technology. Edward O. Wilson

  6. #6
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    In 1991 my 4yo came down with pneumonia. Turns out the company that made his generic asthma medicine applied to make it using method "A", but the FDA refused authorization as it was too easily contaminated. They reapplied using method "B", and the FDA approved it.
    They decided B was too expensive and they actually used A. It got contaminated and thousands of people got pneumonia, several died.

    We got a strangely good cash settlement, but no one went to jail.

    That's all I know about generics.

  7. #7
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    From the link I posted earlier:

    Testing Generic Drugs

    The FDA approval process assures that medicines sold in the United States are safe and effective. But FDA also confirms safety and effectiveness by testing selected drugs—both brand and generic—in its laboratories or through research contracts and grants. This includes the raw ingredients used to make the product, as well as the finished drug.

    Michael,

    In this era of the internet, I am always just as skeptical about websites like you quoted as I am about a government agency. Just like the news media today, too often those "peoples websites" have an agenda and tend to only post information that backs their agenda or theories. In fact, I have more faith in the government agency FDA. During my entire professional career, my labors were routinely monitored and controlled by first the BRH and later the FDA when it assumed the duties of the BRH. Though they often get a lot of bad press, they are staffed by professionals. When they fall short, they get the bad press with the associated publicity and yet, when they perform well (which they do most of the time) they get little press or credit.
    Last edited by Ken Fitzgerald; 08-17-2016 at 11:05 PM.
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  8. #8
    Generic drugs must contain the same active ingredient as the brand name drug, but the other ingredients (generally inert ingredients) may not be the same. Occasionally, someone may have a negative reaction to the inert ingredients, and in that case, they should take the brand name. But the number of people with such reactions is very small.

    The makers of the brand name drugs will attempt to convince the patient that their drug is better than the generic, and in some cases, they will rebate the co-pay to the patient in order to get the patient to demand the brand name drug. Insurance companies are getting wise to those games and make it very difficult to get the brand name instead of a generic.

    You should not be afraid of generic drugs. They are, in the main, safe and effective. And a lot less expensive. If you had to pay the full price, you'd probably demand the generic. It's because of insurance that we have these games about brand name drugs.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  9. #9
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    My wife is an MD (cardiovascular anesthesiologist) and was studying for her PharmD when we met. She stopped studying for the PharmD to marry me. She sits on the committee that selects new medications for several hospitals and her job entails intimately knowing/understanding medications at a very high level. She always gets us generic drugs when available, always. I don't worry about her choices in the least.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rick Fisher View Post
    If the original is $500 a month, then people must be paying it. The drug company would charge what the market will bear ?

    Synthesis of most drugs in a lab isn't difficult, but coming up with the synthesis is the real talent.

    That and testing. I read about one drug being developed by a major pharmaceutical company. They had about $800 million invested in that product when there was a problem discovered that made that drug unsalable. So $800 million flushed. The money to do that kind of development and testing has to come from somewhere.

  11. #11
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    Remember Martin Shkreli and his price gouging incident. Sometimes generic competition fosters lower prices.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Rich Riddle View Post
    Remember Martin Shkreli and his price gouging incident. Sometimes generic competition fosters lower prices.
    That one was very interesting and could portend some future price increases. Shkreli bought a generic drug that is used to treat an uncommon disease. Because the market is fairly small, no other companies were interested in making the generic. Then, he jacked up the price astronomically. With that much profit in each pill, other companies would likely enter the market but it would take time for them to get approval. And in the meanwhile, Shkreli would be making very handsome profits.

    From a pure business point of view, it was a very inventive move. But from a "human" point of view, it was outrageous.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  13. #13
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    For prescription medications I always get the generic equivalent. I've found them to remedy the ailments I experience. As noted above, the cost difference can be extreme. I once was given a Rx for a medication that would have cost ~$600 ( I can no longer recall the name) & accepted a generic equivalent (cost ~$6) recommended by the local pharmacist.
    However, for off-the-shelf medications I've found that the store brand names do not perform as well as the better known brand names. Tylnol vs. Equate Tylenol, etc. I've been told that by a pharmacist that the "inactive" ingredients in store brands can be the difference. Go figure.
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  14. #14
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    What that Martin Shkreli did was outrageous! It's another case of someone being an extremist.
    Ken

    So much to learn, so little time.....

  15. #15
    Not sure about the USA but in Canada my doctor told me that the generic drugs can contain up to 20% less of the active ingredient compared to the name brand.

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