Generic medicines Questions

Bro simple example

A same spec phone is offered by two or more brands

Eg. Samsung, OnePlus and Itel,Techno

Samsung, OnePlus charging more for their quality and brand value whereas Itel, Techno giving it at a cheaper rate.Which Phone will you buy?

f ... i would love to see some doctors views onthis 

romilq wrote:

For heart medications avoid generic medicines unless it is very common drug like some beta blocker. I myself do not trust generic drug manufacturers to maintain quality. I mean kitna quality control hoga I don't know. During corona I had very bad experiences with multiple generic brands. Maybe it was specific to that time coz corona ke time bahut fakes aa gaye the market me sabhi drugs ke. But some manufacturers do not even have any website, nothing comes up on Google search still they were selling very important drugs.

Faug wrote:

I’ll answer in basic language  

Generic medicines carry substitute salt which isn’t mass tested/no decent studies availability nor patent that’s why it’s cheaper. Always RISKY! 

Branded ones recommended by doctors are tested with study on mass number so doc’s don’t take risk while recommending you that. They know it’ll work. Now, here comes 3 situations: 

1. If you can afford, you really won’t be asking this question and moving to branded ones. 

2. If you can afford but don’t want to waste money on medicine, you’ll check all alternatives and take risk for generic to save some money. Money isn’t > than life. 

3. If you can’t afford, you’ll go for generic medicine. 

I can give you my example; I’m taking rybelsus 14mg per day, just 3 strips of this cost me 11,400/month. If I couldn’t afford, I would’ve opted for generic one. 🤷‍♂️

Neversaynever wrote:

Well said.

Government spends a lot in advertises to create impression that generic is standard and brands are looting by charging higher. One shouldn't fall into that trap.

If the dose is less or components are only few of the mentioned, they manufacture for less but who's the ultimate loser. It is safe to take doesn't mean it is good to take.

kartikxxx wrote:

I think if the salt is same then one can take generic meds, no harm in that.

Even civil hospital doc's gave generic meds.

140 cr ki abadi branded nhi khati.

Rahi baat quality ki, vo toh branded mai bhi guaranteed nhi hai as u urself said they qc bodies.

Apni jeb dekho , genuine substitute lo doc ki salah se.

Brands heavy promotion karti hai bribe karti hai naam bnati hai rnd mai invest karti hai isiliy mhengi hoti hai.

Not sure but unka patent ek period ke liy haihota , uske baad koi bhi vo formula use karke med bna sakta hai tabhi generic banti hai.

Generic - no rnd, no promotion no bribe, isiliy sasti

As per media reports the small manufacturers of generic meds are generally "on good terms" with the state level regulators. 

kukdookoo wrote:

there is a confusion here, lupin pharmaceutical selling a medicine with warfarin is normal medicine that one gets from a medicine shop.

jan ashudi stores selling the same at like 80-90% less are generic medicines, these one's are very hard or impossible to find in normal medicine shops.

now say a very small or never heard of pharmaceutical company selling medicine with warfarin again at 50-60% less price than lupin's, is this a generic medicine? these are too only available in medicine shops only. + @DeciDeaim @raman12 @shivrajsingh

Cipla, Lupin, Sun etc. they mostly manufacture generic meds. R&D budgets are not high and they can't call upon many drugs that they developed on their own. Below them there are thousands of, in a manner of speaking, Tier-2,Tier-3 etc. companies. With virtually no regulation and independent testing it all runs on a good faith basis. GMP was established way back in 2006 in India but it's failure can be gauged from the fact that the Health Minister recently said that he will ensure that GMP is followed within the next 12 months. You can check if the meds are available cheaper from Tier 2 firms or not. 

I will try to explain in simple language.

There are three types of drugs.

1. Patented drug :  These drugs are patented means only the company which have developed it can manufacture. Company tries to cover cost of drug discovery. Developing a new drug costs arround 1-2 billion USD. That's why they are costly.

2. Branded Generics : After expiry of patents any company can manufacture that drug following certain standards I.e. GMP(Good Manufacturing Practices). BA/BE has to be same as original drug. Simply put aim is to produce effect same as original patented drug. Companies like Cipla, Lupin produce generics mostly.

3. Generics by other companies : Same regulations for these also. Manufactured by lesser known pharmas.

Doctor while prescribing prefers Orginal drug or Branded Generics which they have experience of.

Generics madicine ideally should produce same effect as that of original drug but due to violations of regulation there are chances that active ingredient in generic drug may be of low concentration. eg Drug Amoxicillin+Clavulunate - hear the doctor will prefer original drug that is augmented because the generic companies may not even put the costly compound clavulanet at all. Similarly doctors will prefer dolo or calpol because other genetic drugs may not even contain the paracetamol in concentration of 500 mg.

Solution: so unless and until CDSCO I.e. the regulatory authority of India implements the stringent good manufacturing practices there will be always hesitation on part of the doctor as well as the patient about generic drugs.

kukdookoo wrote:
I am not talking about the generic ones, the ones which are sold in those jan ashudi centers. I am asking say lupin is selling this medicine for rs.500 now there are other small and never heard of companies selling the same medicine, in medicine shops and not in jan ashudi centers, for like rs.200. Can these be trusted?

Jan Ausadhi to government khud run karta hai as far as I know. To I can only hope vaha bikne waale brands okay honge. 

romilq wrote:

Jan Ausadhi to government khud run karta hai as far as I know. To I can only hope vaha bikne waale brands okay honge. 

its not about salt its the other item which helps the salt to absord in body, i observed more side effects with cheap medicines with same salt, bt as it was not for some serious condition like heart i still use cheap one as effect is same, but i would not cheap out heart medicine going agaisnt doctors 

kukdookoo wrote:
Paji i am talking about small pharmaceutical companies which sell in normal stores.

Ha vo to mai original comment me bata diya ke I don’t trust such manufactures.  Unka website tak nahi hota aur Google search pe bhi pharma company ka koi pata nahi hota. Cipla, Abbott and other such brands make generic medicines too. Stick to such known pharma companies. Or buy branded ones. 

This is what I do..

I generally buy medicines online and if there's a cheaper alternative available with price difference of more than 40%, I choose the latter. Also these are from brands which are somewhat less popular and there's no harm as per me.

For example: I needed Montelukast tab which I generally have from Sun Pharma named Mondeslor but this time I went from Systopic Lab as it was around 50% cheaper. But for heart and other major ones, I'd suggest to stick to doctor's prescribed drug, if possible.

Also if you need a major drug on regular basis, it's better to consult your doctor or any other medical practitioner before choosing the alternative. 

Faug wrote:

I’ll answer in basic language  

Generic medicines carry substitute salt which isn’t mass tested/no decent studies availability nor patent that’s why it’s cheaper. Always RISKY! 

Branded ones recommended by doctors are tested with study on mass number so doc’s don’t take risk while recommending you that. They know it’ll work. Now, here comes 3 situations: 

1. If you can afford, you really won’t be asking this question and moving to branded ones. 

2. If you can afford but don’t want to waste money on medicine, you’ll check all alternatives and take risk for generic to save some money. Money isn’t > than life. 

3. If you can’t afford, you’ll go for generic medicine. 

I can give you my example; I’m taking rybelsus 14mg per day, just 3 strips of this cost me 11,400/month. If I couldn’t afford, I would’ve opted for generic one. 🤷‍♂️

agree with @Faug

@kukdookoo for heart i will suggest you go with doctor's prescribed meds

just google

Katherine Eban : bottle of lies

romilq wrote:

Ha vo to mai original comment me bata diya ke I don’t trust such manufactures.  Unka website tak nahi hota aur Google search pe bhi pharma company ka koi pata nahi hota. Cipla, Abbott and other such brands make generic medicines too. Stick to such known pharma companies. Or buy branded ones. 

newuser wrote:

just google

Katherine Eban : bottle of lies

@Ramta_Jogi

In short : Generic Medicines are as good as branded medicine. But consult with your doctor first about it. Ask doctor if you can use the Generic medecine of same composition salt as there are many duplicate brands , search about the company from google. There are very popular brands like 

Sun Pharma

Divi's Lab

Dr. Reddy's 

Cipla 

Emcure Pharma

Biocon 

Torrent Pharma

Lupin 

Zydus Life or Cadila 

Aurobindo Pharma 

Intas Pharma

Glenmark Pharma 

Mankind Pharma 

Laurus Labs 

Abbott 

Alkem Lab

Alembic Pharma

but remember mostly fraudsters copy popular brands and medicines. So just consult with doctor about the Generic brand. 

Watcher wrote:

In short : Generic Medicines are as good as branded medicine. But consult with your doctor first about it. Ask doctor if you can use the Generic medecine of same composition salt as there are many duplicate brands , search about the company from google. There are very popular brands like 

Sun Pharma

Divi's Lab

Dr. Reddy's 

Cipla 

Emcure Pharma

Biocon 

Torrent Pharma

Lupin 

Zydus Life or Cadila 

Aurobindo Pharma 

Intas Pharma

Glenmark Pharma 

Mankind Pharma 

Laurus Labs 

Abbott 

Alkem Lab

Alembic Pharma

but remember mostly fraudsters copy popular brands and medicines. So just consult with doctor about the Generic brand. 

Paji I am not talking about the generic ones, the ones which are sold in those jan ashudi centers. I am asking say lupin is selling this medicine for rs.500 now there are other small and never heard of companies selling the same medicine, in medicine shops and not in jan ashudi centers, for like rs.200. Can these be trusted?

or is it true that big companies that you have mentioned or as mentioned by @romilq paji sell cheaper versions of their medicines as generic medicines? If yes then where to find the same?

And doctors always say to try at your own risk.

"I am asking say Lupin is selling this medicine for rs.500 now there are other small and never heard of companies selling the same medicine, in medicine shops and not in jan ashudi centers" - Ha usi ko generic medicine bolte hai. Like for example the drug for erectile dysfunction is Sildenafil citrate commonly sold by Pfizer under the brand name Viagra. Pfizer owns it. But other companies are also selling the same drug Sildenafil citrate under other brand names like Vigora, Suhagra and what not. These are generic medicines which contain the same drug but may have other ingredients too. Some companies are producing Sildenafil citrate under license from Pfizer in India. So you should prefer such big companies as there is some assurance about quality control. Doctors themselves do not trust never heard of pharma companies as there is no idea about quality control and what is the efficacy of the drugs manufactured by these never heard of brands. 

kukdookoo wrote:
how and where to find generic medicines by the likes of big companies as u have mentioned?

https://m.economictimes.com/industry/healthcare...

My Suggestion Take Only USFDA Approved Drugs

Complicating matters even further even some of the biggest generic med manufacturers like Sun, Cipla, Macleod's at times sub-contract the actual production to a smaller firm. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-08... 

romilq wrote:
1mg pe dikhata hai as far as I know.

shraaj wrote:

https://m.economictimes.com/industry/healthcare...

My Suggestion Take Only USFDA Approved Drugs

LIMBO wrote:

Complicating matters even further even some of the biggest generic med manufacturers like Sun, Cipla, Macleod's at times sub-contract the actual production to a smaller firm. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-08... 

kukdookoo wrote:
Paki those companies are small and unheard of like I have mentioned, not the big one's as you mentioned.

I think you missed one of my comments -

"I am asking say Lupin is selling this medicine for rs.500 now there are other small and never heard of companies selling the same medicine, in medicine shops and not in jan ashudi centers" - Ha usi ko generic medicine bolte hai. Like for example the drug for erectile dysfunction is Sildenafil citrate commonly sold by Pfizer under the brand name Viagra. Pfizer owns it. But other companies are also selling the same drug Sildenafil citrate under other brand names like Vigora, Suhagra and what not. These are generic medicines which contain the same drug but may have other ingredients too. Some companies are producing Sildenafil citrate under license from Pfizer in India. So you should prefer such big companies as there is some assurance about quality control. Doctors themselves do not trust never heard of pharma companies as there is no idea about quality control and what is the efficacy of the drugs manufactured by these never heard of brands.

Btw Viagra's patent has expired. So many manufacturers are making generic Viagra now. Even Pfizer themselves are making generic version of their branded Viagra.

In that case you can just search for a particular medication on the website of the trusted brands. You will find their 'version' there. 

Neversaynever wrote:

@kukdookoo 22g, CDSCO rocks!!
Yesterday news, HT, Indian express and the likes.