The quality of generic drugs vs. their brand name counterparts is a non-issue. Issues of generic drug efficacy and safety relative to brand name drugs are often raised by the group having the most to lose… the brand name pharmaceutical industry. Many facts about generic drugs are not fully appreciated. Among these are the following:

Generic drugs are the same as the brand name versions.
Generic drugs contain exactly the same active ingredient(s) as the brand name version. There are many more similarities, too. Generic drugs must be identical to the brand name equivalent in strength, form (e.g., tablet, capsule), route of administration, purity and quality.

A generic drug can be used for the same conditions as the brand.
A generic drug can be used for any and all medical conditions that the brand name version is used to treat if that use is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Generic drugs are as safe and effective as a brand name drug.
If a generic drug is the same as the brand name drug in active ingredient(s), strength, dosage form, purity, and overall quality, as required by the FDA, it is as safe and effective as the brand name drug.

Side effects are no more likely with generic drugs than with brands.
Generic drugs pose no greater risk of producing adverse effects than the brand name version because the active ingredients, strength, dosage form, rate and extent of absorption, and purity are the same.

Generic drugs are as potent as brand name drugs.
Generic versions of brand name drugs must meet FDA standards for potency that are exactly the same as those required of brand name drugs. Further, generic drugs must exert the same therapeutic effect in the body as the brand name version. There is no double standard for potency (strength). Generic versions of brand name drugs are equipotent.

Generic drugs do not take longer to act.
The FDA requires that generic drugs, once taken, be absorbed into the blood stream of the body at the same rate and extent as the brand name drug. Thus, the onset and duration of action of a generic drug will be the same as for a brand name drug.

Generic drugs are manufactured in modern facilities.
In fact, many brand name drug manufacturers also manufacture generic drugs. The generic manufacturing facilities and equipment are often more modern and technologically advanced than those utilized to manufacture brand name drugs.

The standards for quality are the same for brand name and generic drugs.
There is only one standard for drug quality in the U.S. That standard is science-based and established and enforced by the FDA. Generic drugs and brand name drugs are held to the same quality standards for safety, effectiveness, stability, purity, labeling and overall quality. There are no exceptions.

Brand name drugs are not better because they cost more.
Brand name drugs enjoy 20 years of patent life and many years of market exclusivity where competition is not allowed. When the patent on a brand name drug expires, generic drugs can begin to compete with the brand name version if all FDA standards for quality are met. Prices for brand name drugs are rarely lowered to compete with equivalent generic drugs.

Generic drugs will save money.
On the average, a generic prescription cost $80 to $90 less than a brand name prescription