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Are Generic Drugs As Good?
Intellihealth Feature July 19, 2000| Other News | |
Generic drugs are often cheaper than brand name drugs, and supposedly just as effective. But are these claims true?
Vincent Earl Pearson, Pharm. D., clinical coordinator for drug information for the Department of Pharmacy at Johns Hopkins Hospital, says most of the time it's true. Generics have to pass the same testing by the FDA as the brand names.
In most cases, the only difference between the brand name and generics are the inactive ingredients. Inactive ingredients include coloring, flavoring, fillers, binders which may make a generic look different.
There is an exception to safe switching between generics and brand name. A group of drugs with "Narrow Therapeutic Index (NTI)" may not be a safe switch. These drugs can be toxic or result in loss of disease control if not released or absorbed at the proper dosage. Even a slight change can cause an upset.
Known NTI drugs are:
- Conjugated estrogen (Premarin): hormone replacement
- Phenytoin (Dilantin) and carbamazepine (Tegretol): anticonvulsants
- Theophylline (Theo-dur): lung disease and asthma
- Cyclosporine (Sandimmune or Neoral): for organ transplant antirejection
