VS Generics
Originals
VS Generics
Defined as a substitute for branded medicine, generics have been around for over half a century. However, some still perceive them as ineffective and inferior. But is this all true?
Many patients in South Africa are unreasonably suspicious of what is, in essence, a“ carbon copy” of the original brand of drug or medicine. This lack of understanding costs consumers and medical aids millions of rands each year.
What is a generic drug?
Copies of brand-name drugs that have exactly the same dosage, intended use, effects, side effects, route of administration, risks, safety and strength as the original drug.
“ In other words”, says Dr Carla von Benecke, a Senior Clinical Risk Manager at Bonitas,“ their pharmacological effects are exactly the same as those of their brandname counterparts. In more scientific terms, they are defined as a bioequivalent of a branded medicine with respect to pharmacokinetic( the movement of the drug in the body) and pharmacodynamics( the effect and mechanism of the drug).”
But generics are much, much cheaper...
Von Benecke explains,“ Pharmaceutical companies are researching and testing new active ingredients and medicines all the time. As they start working on a new molecule, they patent it to get exclusivity on its use. The patent is valid for about 20 years, which means that company alone may research, create a new formulation( the‘ recipe’ and process for creating the actual medicine) and register the medicine. This understandably takes years and is a huge financial burden on the company. After about 8 to 10 years on the market, the patent usually expires and other drug companies can copy exactly the same drug without the initial clinical research costs.”
Page 15 B-Living Issue 1, 2017