What is Answerbag?

Ask questions and share your knowledge with the world here on Answerbag. Get the best answers where there are no duplicate questions and questions are always open - our community of over 1,140,000 will find your answer!

Join For Free!
 

What is Generic Medicine?

Monday, August 03, 2009
Related Tags: medicines | etopen | ingredients | therapeutic | drugs
 

Instructions

Definition

  • Step 1:
    The term "generic medicine" refers to medications that are produced and commercialized without patent protection.

Time Frame

  • Step 1:
    Since drug companies lay out high costs to research, develop and market brand-name drugs, they usually receive a 20-year patent protection for the medicines they create. Only after that period can other drug companies sell generic versions of patented medicines.

Features

  • Step 1:
    Generic medicines and brand-name drugs contain the same active ingredients (the chemicals responsible for their therapeutic effect). However, their inactive ingredients, form, shape or color usually differ.

Function

  • Step 1:
    Since generic medicines have the same active ingredients, same mechanism of action, as well as the same benefits and side effects as their brand-name counterparts, they can treat the same conditions.

Misconceptions

  • Step 1:
    Generic medicines are not dangerous, cheap, ineffective versions of branded drugs. To be licensed, generics have to prove their efficacy and go through the same legal process as other pharmaceuticals.

Benefits

  • Step 1:
    Beyond therapeutic effectiveness, generic medicine provides increased competition, which drives prices down, to the advantage of consumers and other payers.

Resources

Photo/Video Credit

Generic Drug Etopen (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

What is Generic Medicine? Provided by eHow.com
Related Content
Generic Vs. Regular Medication
The medicine market today offers a considerable number of generic and regular, or branded, medications. Patients requiring medicine may wish to know the difference between generic and regular...
What Are Generic Medicines?
Generic medicines are copies of brand-name drugs that contain the same active ingredients and are deemed to be as safe as the brand to treat the same conditions. Generics, which are sold with their...
The History of Generic Drugs
Generic prescription drugs held a negligible share of the U.S. pharmaceutical market for most of the 20th century. A 1984 law simplified the approval of unbranded medications, and sales of generics...
Patent Rights
Patent rights have been granted to American inventors of novel, non-obvious and useful inventions for more than two centuries. While other intellectual property laws confer upon copy holders and...
Information on Generic Medication
Generic medications work exactly as do their brand-name counterparts, offering the same strength, performance, dosage, quality and safety standards. Once a name-brand prescription medication's...