The myths and misunderstandings surrounding generic medications have long fueled allegations of ineffectiveness, inferiority to brand-name drugs, and unnecessarily increased costs for people who need to take those medications.

What Are The Similarities Between Brand Name & Generic Drugs?
Same Active Ingredients. The simple truth is that when a generic drug product is approved, it has to prove that it meets the rigorous standards established by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for drug identity, strength, quality, purity and potency. That means that generic drugs must have the same active ingredient, strength, dosage form, and route of administration as the brand name product.

Similar Blood Levels. A generic drug must be shown to give blood levels that are very similar to those of the brand-name product. If blood levels are the same, the FDA assumes that the therapeutic effect will be the same as well. Because of the similarity... (read more)