If your doctor has offered you the choice between $4 generic or patented drugs you may be confused as to which option is best. The answer is that the quality of the medication would be identical. The only real choice is whether or not you want to save yourself some cash by opting for the generic product.
Any drug, be it a generic or branded, would have been regulated by an official agency. For example in the US the Federal Drug Administration carries this out. It is not possible for any medication, or even health supplement, to be sold legally without first being approved. The FDA exists to ensure that all products we consume are safe and have the expected results.
If a manufacturer of drugs were to introduce a new medication without the right approval then the FDA would quickly use its power to stop distribution. Because of this, you can be certain that any generic prescriptions you are given would be above board and have the desired results. The only issue would be to choose a reputable source, for example your GP.
Any new drug that is made is given a patent that is held by the manufacturer. In America this is valid for a maximum of twenty years. It is only after the patent has expired that other manufacturers can synthesize the products to make generic drugs that you can use. Once the patent has gone, the costs come right down as competition then increases.
Any medication sold today would have undergone extensive checks and double checks at all stages in the manufacturing process to ensure that quality is maintained. This includes aspects such as the size and weight of the medications as well as their chemical properties. For a generic manufacturer of drugs there is far less cost involved. The products can be synthesized and marketed in a much shorter time, as most of the groundwork would have already been done.
Today the largest market for all generic drugs is Asia and Africa as the population in these countries has less of an income when compared to the west. It is a controversial issue whether or not the major pharmaceutical companies should allow cheap generic drugs to be made available sooner for regions such as Sub Saharan Africa where there is a massive demand for life saving medication. For example: those that help HIV sufferers. Luckily, there are nations such as Thailand and India that place a large amount of resources into manufacturing and making generic medications.
It is open to debate whether health care should be an industry that is accessible and free for all or whether or not it is morally right for a huge pharmaceutical company to make hundreds of millions of dollars a year out of our terrible misfortune, but the truth of the matter is that the drug patent laws exist. No matter what ailment you suffer with it is well worth finding out whether a generic prescription is available. The money you save can be place to a different use.
There are advances in health care continually. Why should you pay a few hundred bucks for a prescription when the same results can be has for less than half the price through generic prescriptions? If you are thinking about buying drugs online then check whether the pharmacy is licensed before making an order.
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