Are brand-name drugs superior in quality to their generic equivalents?

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Are brand-name drugs superior in quality to their generic equivalents?

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Kristen A. Binaso, RPh, CCP, FASCP

Pharmacy

American Pharmacists Association

423 Answers
3,462 Helpful Votes
14 Followers

... Many patients think that more expensive brand medications are better than their cheaper generic equivalents. The FDA requires pharmaceutical companies to prove all brand and generic drugs meet specific requirements for not only safety and efficacy, but also related to identity, strength, quality, purity, and potency.

Scientific tests and procedures are undertaken to demonstrate generic drugs can be substituted or be the therapeutic equivalent to their brand-drugs counterparts. Generic drug products must contain the identical amounts of the same active drug ingredient as the brand-name product, but can differ in shape, flavor, preservatives, and other inactive ingredients, along with how they are "released" into the body (especially for extended-release products).

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