I am currently attending a condensed Microbiology summer course and have been handed a project for the lab portion of the course. We have free reign over what we can do, well, just as long as we are able to. :)
As of now I am currently in the research phase of the project. I am attempting to gather several sources of information about the topic. I have found that one can research and discover the same information over and over again, but there is really nothing like a personal story or experience from other individuals.
The topic and project is:
Are Generic Drugs Better than Brand Name Drugs?
Most of the research that I have completed states that there is no real difference between generic drugs and brand name drugs, it also states that both genres work in the same manner, capacity, and time; both should cause the same reactions, outcomes, etc.
What I would like, is to find out if any of you fine members have an experience or story that has proven otherwise.
My experiment will include conducting a Diffusion Disk Test where, on a Petri plate, I inoculate 'strep' in the spread plate fashion, then drop filter tablets into the strep that have been soaked in water and two different cold medications of liquid or tablet form; one that is a brand name and the other...a generic. Then follow the outcomes and results.
How does this sound to everybody, and what are your stories and experiences. For those who do not mind their input added into my research and final outcome, then do say so because I hope to use some of your stories and experiences in my final paper.
Bio-equivalent is just that - equivalent. Here in the US, the FDA allows for a percentage of "error" (my word) from the original preparation. So, while a generic is safe and equivalent, it may be more or less potent than the branded product.
I agree with you, reason why branded drugs are expensive is because they are trying to recoup the investment they made while developiong the product. Another reason, is the expenses they incurred in promotions.
But as long a generic version came from a refutable company. Then it is safe to use and it saves a lot of money. I am using generics most of the time and it works well on me.
In reference to the OP's original questions; I believe we've been told that generics are generally great except with certain things; Hormones, Thyroid meds, Warfarin/Coumadin are a few I remember. Of course then there are individual responses.
As for your lab experiment, I would love to know the med you will be using. If it is an antibiotic then generic vs. brand name shouldn't be a problem, they've been interchanged for years just fine. If it's an over-the-counter med I'm think there will also be little difference; that is, neither brand name or generic should do anything to a strep bacteria.
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I agree with you, reason why branded drugs are expensive is because they are trying to recoup the investment they made while developiong the product. Another reason, is the expenses they incurred in promotions.
But as long a generic version came from a refutable company. Then it is safe to use and it saves a lot of money. I am using generics most of the time and it works well on me.