When a drug company first invents a drug that company is the only one permitted to make that drug in the same country for a certain number of years. After this time period, other companies are allowed to make the same drug product. These drugs are called generic drugs. The original drug (e.g. Viagra) is called a brand name drug.
Brand name drugs and their generics are IDENTICAL in terms of actual active ingredients. The generic pills may look different (because they are made by a different company) but inside is exactly the same active ingredients, which works in exactly the same way. The only difference between brand name drugs and generic drugs is that generics are always much less expensive. Savings of up to 80% can be made by purchasing generic drugs instead of namebrand medication.
Are these the same drugs as the name brand products? Generic medication and the name brand equivalents are identical. All pharmaceuticals are simply various recipes of common chemical raw ingredients. Making an exact copy of a pharmaceutical is really quite simple. Generics do not look the same as the brand name products, even though they have the same active ingredients and work in exactly the same way. Also, the same brand name pill may look a little different if the manufacturer is in a different country. For example, Celexa 20MG is a peach colored pill in the US, yet the Canadian pill is white and smaller than the US pill. Both pills are Celexa 20MG, both have the same active ingredient, and both are made by the same company. But, for whatever reason, the manufacturer decided to make the Canadian drugs a different color. When comparing 2 different Generics, they will look different if they are made by 2 different companies.
Are the Generic Drugs safe? Generic drugs are just as safe and effective as their brand-name counterparts. These are the very companies that manufacture and export in bulk the drug that goes in to the making of the world's best-selling brands in the US and Europe.
