Generic Drugs – Know The Associated Pros And Cons

If you regularly buy medicines for the seniors or kids of your house, then you must have an idea that medicines can be of two types – branded as well as generic. There are not much difference between branded and generic drugs. Well, generic drug is simply a branded drug which comes into the market with a new name after the patent for the branded drug expires. However, it should be also be noted here that though generic drugs are popular, there are certain pros and cons associated with it.

Pros and cons of generic drugs

Let's take a look at some of the pros associated with generic drugs:

Pricing: While you buy the generic medicines, you will be able to get the products at a lower price compared to their branded version. This is because the medicines will be made locally by various medicine producing companies once the patent gets expired. Once the medicines are locally available, they will not have to be imported from other countries or some other places. As a result, the price automatically drops down to a great extent.

Easily available: The generic drugs are easily available unlike many branded drugs. You will get the generic version of the drugs in your local medical store or even at the online medicine shops. You do not have to pay extra money for it or do not have to order it beforehand. Thus, whenever you are in need of these medicines, you will be able to get them easily.

Similar composition of drugs: While you buy the generic medicines, it is quite common that you might be worried about the composition of the drugs. Well, you should not worry much. You should note that generic medicines in India or in any part of the world will have more or less the same composition.

Some of the cons associated with generic drugs are as follows:

Inadequate testing: All medicines need to be tested before they are made available for the common users. Testing and checking for branded drugs are quite extensive and they last for years. This is not the same for generic drugs. The generic drugs mainly go through the "bio-equivalent" test. This will only test whether the active ingredients are almost the same as compared to its branded version.

Different labeling: Many a times, labeling on the packages of the generic medicines are quite different from that of the branded medicines. This can sometimes confuse the people who consume the medicines. Thus, they misunderstand as to what they are consuming and what side effects the medicine can have.

Variation of inactive ingredients: Medicines contain various inactive ingredients. These ingredients might vary to a great extent in generic medicines when compared to that of branded medicines. Depending upon your allergy and immunity levels, these inactive ingredients can have impact on your health. So, before you go for these medicines, take the opinion of your physician.

Hopefully, now you have a clear idea about the pros and cons of generic medicines. Thus, you will be able to decide whether or not you should go for it.