Generic vs. Name Brand: What’s the Difference? (videos)

Yes, there is a difference. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t switch from a name brand medication to a generic version.

Browsing information about brand names and generics, you’ll hear a typical line which isn’t telling the whole story. Is there a difference? No (they say), you just pay more for the brand name because the big drug company is paying for their fancy advertising.

Now I’m not about to paint all drug companies with the same brush – all as great heroes of our time, or as health care villains. But this simple answer just doesn’t fit all the facts.

One look at a generic medication beside a brand name will tell you right away that there are some differences, because the two probably won’t look the same. So what actually is the difference?

Generic drugs will have different “fillers” (exipients), such as colouring. Now generally speaking, this will make little or no difference to you.

Why? Because your generic medication is probably going to act exactly the same way in your body. The active ingredient is the same, it will be absorbed at the same rate, it will work the same way. That is generally the legal requirement.

However, those tiny differences can make a difference for some people, especially in certain medications. For example, what about generic triptans vs namebrand? For most people, all they will do is save money. But for others, one may actually work better than the other.

That being said, it could be the generic that works better.

If you’re switching to a generic, and you find it works well, try to stay with the same generic medication. There are differences between generics as well.

What about the claim that you’re just paying for big company advertising? Again, it’s not so simple. Although the system is far from perfect, it is designed to help the companies that research the medication get their investment back, enabling them to continue research into new medications.

In the United States, there has been another legal concern about generics. Because they are not the ones doing the research, and are only copies of the original, they aren’t necessarily required to keep you up to date with the latest safety concerns. In other words, if a generic drug harms you and you want to file a lawsuit, the generic company won’t have the same responsibility as the brand name drug company.

To explain further, here are a couple of videos. The first explains how a drug comes into being and goes from brand name to generic. The second is a brief discussion from Harvard Medical School about the differences.