Generic Drugs
The generic version of a drug is commonly produced to lower costs in the medicine world.
Typically, a drug company will spend millions upon millions of dollars and years and years doing R&D and developing a drug. In order to be compensated for such, they typically get a medical patent. These last for a certain number of years before expiring. This gives them enough headway to be able to make money through a branded approach.
Generic Drugs save cost and prevent monopolies in medicine.
A prescription drug that has the same active-ingredient formula as a brand-name drug. Generic drugs usually cost less than brand-name drugs. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rates these drugs to be as safe and effective as brand-name drugs.
Medicine generally has exclusivity periods
Drug patents are typically good for 20 years after the drug’s invention. However, because of testing and patent submission, not a drug rarely enjoys the benefit of a full exclusivity period and even if there is a patent there are other methodologies based on FDA approval. In general, brand name drugs are protected with a period of exclusivity.
After that period of exclusivity is over, generics can join the market if the generic drug applicant has shown that the product has met all FDA standards for approval.
Generics help prevent monopolizing an active ingredient.
Generic drugs generally use the same active ingredients as a brand name drug, but because they aren’t branded from a major corporation they can be bought at a fraction of the price. For example, an ED drug like Viagra or Cialis contains an active ingredient in it that can be replicated by a pharmacy. This is called a generic drug. Viagra and Cialis obviously are very well known and enjoyed the benefit of the exclusivity period described above. Obviously, Viagra and Cialis have competition once a generic enters the market. However, Viagra and Cialis are still household names years and decades after its creation and competition, because they have a brand name that has been marketed to the public on television ads. They have a window of exclusivity to really benefit from advertising. However, if this exclusivity period lasted forever you would have zero competition and a monopoly that could hike up prices to a limitless number. Because of generics, it keeps prices of the brand name drugs down because the generics are generally a fraction of the price.
You may say to yourself is it safe to take a generic. Generics are rigorously tested and the have to be approved by the standards and guidelines administered by the FDA.
