Brand name VS generic drugs

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Pharmaceutical companies charge big bucks for brand name medications and many of us assume that because they’re so much pricier, they must be better. That’s certainly not the case. There’s a reason brand name drugs cost more, but it has nothing to do with ingredients.

The experts have spoken and there is no difference between brand name and generic drugs – at least not one that will affect how they work. “The shape may be different, the size, the markings and then there are things in the drugs called excipients which would be a filler or perhaps a preservative” Deb Saltmarche, is Chair of the Ontario Pharmacists Associaton. But none of those elements are active ingredients. Health Canada ensures the type and amount of active ingredient in generic drugs is identical to their brand name counterparts.

“The active ingredient is the medication that gives the benefit or effect of the medication” says Pharmacist Sony Poulose. When comparing capsules of Tylenol and acetaminophen, you’ll get 500mg of acetaminophen and 65 mg of caffeine – the the exact same dose. But for the brand name, you pay 50 per cent more.

Similar price differences apply to cold remedies, allergy pills and most prescription medications. The price gap exists because brands spend big bucks to research and develop new drugs. Once their patents expire, the recipe is fair game. “After that, a generic manufacturer can make a copy of that product and that’s why generic drugs are cheaper, because they don’t have to invest in as much research” says Deb Saltmarche.

When generic alternatives go on the market, most drug plans won’t foot the bill for brand name.

In very rare cases, patients will have a reaction to a non-medicinal ingredient. but most bodies don’t notice the slightest difference. Even the fillers in generic drugs have to be what’s called “bioequivalent” to brand name fillers– they break down in the body at the same rate so the active ingredient is delivered at the right pace.