As a long term Encino dentist I am concerned about my patients health. We all need to know more about the drugs we take. Generic versus brand name drugs is an important decision.
When a drug company develops a new drug it is known as a brand name drug. They are under patent protection. This is to protect the investment of the big drug company or so they say. They have the sole right to manufacture and sell the drug while the patent is in effect ands set it’s price.
When patents expire, other manufacturers can submit an application to the FDA for approval to market a generic version of the brand-name drug. Usually much cheaper than brand name it is said that because the drug has not been developed from scratch they are less expenses to produce it can be sold for less.
Although generic drugs are chemically identical to their branded counterparts or act the same on the body, this does not mean that the FDA requires the generic version to look like the brand name in color or shape. They can also be plus or minus 20% in strength. To me that is a lot of variation. As an Encino dentist I am worried about this.
Often there is confusion when the look of a drug changes. Researchers at Boston and Woman’s Hospital found many people won’t take their medication when the shape or color changes. They found that when a changed generic heart pill was given, there is a 66% greater chance that heart attack survivors stopped taking their pills. Yes, stopped taking their medication.
FYI generic drugs are prescribed 93% of the time. This is up from 83% of the time in 2003. Of all drugs sold in the U.S. 40% are from overseas. Regretfully only 11% of overseas manufactures are inspected by the FDA. India is the largest producer of generic drugs closely followed by China.
Bottom line, I take generic drugs when available.. but ask where it was made. I myself prescribe generics in my Encino dental office. The cost is the factor. A non-generic brand name equivalent can easily be 10+ times the generic version. In my opinion something is very wrong with the system. Medication prices are not a problem in Canada. Why is this? I for one don’t want medications made in India or China. What is a fellow to do?
Tip of the Day: Shop medication on the phone. Prices at different pharmacies vary greatly. Also ask the country of origin. Be a wise consumer.
Allan Melnick, DDS
