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**Ifroham4** · 07-31-2012, 11:08 PM

New Indian Express has come out with an interesting news item about the sale of Generic Medicines in Government
Hospitals. Though many of us are hearing the word of "Generic Medicine" now in the media, both visual and print, a brief introduction about this subject by Doctors in Tamil Brahmins Forum will help us in understanding the subject better. Also better we know how safe and effective the Generic Medicines are comparing to branded ones.

Bangalore gets generic, brands take a hit - The New Indian Express

Regards,
Brahmanyan,
Bangalore.

I had a personal mail requesting a simplified account of what exactly is generic.

When a chemical compound or mixture of compounds is discovered to have therapeutic properties, some investor acquires exclusive rights for marketing it to reap the benefits of his investment, through patent protection. So he sets a high price for the drug.

Once the patent protections afforded to the original developer of a drug have expired, that is, at the end of this patent protection period, ‘typically’ an expired patent cannot be renewed. So, somebody else can manufacture the same drug, which now gets labeled as generic.

So, a generic drug or 'generics' for short, refers to a drug product that is comparable to proprietary brand-listed drug product in dosage, strength, route of administration, quality and performance characteristics, and intended use.

Since the manufacturer of a generic product did not have to spend money to discover or develop the drug, he can afford to sell the drug cheaper than the brand-labelled product. Market competition thus leads to substantially lower prices for both the original brand name product and the generic forms.

Thus, a generic drug contains the same active ingredients as, and sells for a much lower price than, the original drug formulation that was marketed under a brand-name at high price.

In the US, drug patents give 20 years of protection, but the patents are applied for before clinical trials begin, so the "effective" life of a drug patent tends to be much lessthan 20 years.

07-31-2012, 11:08 PM	#7
Ifroham4 Join Date Apr 2007 Posts 5,196 Senior Member	New Indian Express has come out with an interesting news item about the sale of Generic Medicines in Government Hospitals. Though many of us are hearing the word of "Generic Medicine" now in the media, both visual and print, a brief introduction about this subject by Doctors in Tamil Brahmins Forum will help us in understanding the subject better. Also better we know how safe and effective the Generic Medicines are comparing to branded ones. Bangalore gets generic, brands take a hit - The New Indian Express Regards, Brahmanyan, Bangalore. I had a personal mail requesting a simplified account of what exactly is generic. When a chemical compound or mixture of compounds is discovered to have therapeutic properties, some investor acquires exclusive rights for marketing it to reap the benefits of his investment, through patent protection. So he sets a high price for the drug. Once the patent protections afforded to the original developer of a drug have expired, that is, at the end of this patent protection period, ‘typically’ an expired patent cannot be renewed. So, somebody else can manufacture the same drug, which now gets labeled as generic. So, a generic drug or 'generics' for short, refers to a drug product that is comparable to proprietary brand-listed drug product in dosage, strength, route of administration, quality and performance characteristics, and intended use. Since the manufacturer of a generic product did not have to spend money to discover or develop the drug, he can afford to sell the drug cheaper than the brand-labelled product. Market competition thus leads to substantially lower prices for both the original brand name product and the generic forms. Thus, a generic drug contains the same active ingredients as, and sells for a much lower price than, the original drug formulation that was marketed under a brand-name at high price. In the US, drug patents give 20 years of protection, but the patents are applied for before clinical trials begin, so the "effective" life of a drug patent tends to be much lessthan 20 years.
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