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Pharmacy FAQ

What does the term "generic" mean? Do generic medications produce the same effect as the brand name medicines do?

see answer >>

Why are generic medicines so cheap?

see answer >>

Are generic drugs as reliable as brand name pills?

see answer >>

Generic pills do not look like the brand name medication. The pills have a different name printed on them. Why?

see answer >>

Are generic drugs patented?

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What is online pharmacy?

see answer >>

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Pharmacy FAQ

What does the term "generic" mean? Do generic medications produce the same effect as the brand name medicines do?

The difference between a brand name medicine and a generic one is in the name, shape and in the price. A generic drug is usually called by the name of the active ingredient while a manufacturer uses a brand name. However, a manufacturer cannot possess a patent for a certain chemical agent, this is why manufacturers of generic medications can legally produce the so-called "generics". They are the same chemically and since the active ingredient is identical, they have the same medical effect. Thus buying a generic medication one pays less but gets the very same result.

Why are generic medicines so cheap?

Generics are much cheaper than brand-name drugs because generic companies do not have overhead cost such as research and marketing. Most generic drugs are manufactured off-shore and sold online. Since manufacturers do not spend on advertising, research, and creating a physical store, the cost savings are passed on to the consumer.

Are generic drugs as reliable as brand name pills?

Generic drugs are tested under the same standards as brand-name drugs. Each generic drug is laboratory tested so that the same amount is absorbed into the body as with brand-name drugs.
The FDA (U.S Food and Drug Administration), regulates the market and protects the public by inspecting drug manufacturers, and recalling products that do not meet stringent standards. Manufacturing plants are also inspected by the FDA to make sure that they are compliant with FDA standards.
The U.S Food and Drug Administration has accomplished 3,500 inspections annually to ensure that the standards for medicines are met.

Generic pills do not look like the brand name medication. The pills have a different name printed on them. Why?

As we have already mentioned that no manufacturer can take out a patent for a chemical agent. Thus generics can have the exactly same active ingredients as the brand pills. However, names and appearance (shape and color) of medications can be and are always patented and should be treated as the intellectual property. Thus using the name and the shape of the brand pills a manufacturer producing generic medications will be accused of the copyright infringement. This is why generic pills look different, they are of a different color and have a different shape if compared to a brand name pill.

Are generic drugs patented?

No, but having a patent does not make it any more reliable.

Manufacturers patent their products so that they could have the exclusive rights to produce a drug for a period of time. As defined, a patent is a policy provided to people who seek protection for their intellectual property. In effect, the government gives the inventor the right to produce and sell his invention exclusively in exchange for sharing the details of the invention to the public domain. As an intellectual property, owners can also license their patented products as well as mortgage, assign, or transfer the right to other parties. These rights only apply until the patent expires.

Generic versions of these medicines can be produced after their patent expires since it will not be legal for anyone to take advantage of the invention without repercussions. The length of applied patents for US drug products is 20 years. Although it may seem that it is a long time, we have to remember that patents must be approved first before clinical trials begin. Excluding clinical trial and testing, the life of a US drug patent is pegged at seven to twelve years.

Generic pills can be produced based on these 4 reasons:

  1. The patent has expired
  2. The patent for the drug is invalid, or hard to enforce
  3. Non-existence of a drug patent from the start
  4. Under government where U.S. patents are not enforced.

For guidance on the legal issues of generic medicine, you can refer to the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984. This law essentially increased the protection of patented products, but also allows generic medicines makers to produce their medicines.

The process of patenting is not only exclusive in the United States. There are different standards of patenting in India in China and other countries. The bottom-line is that with the different patenting policies from different countries, patenting is a non-issue in the long run.

India passed the Patent Act in 1970, which allows Indian companies to make generic and cheaper alternatives for well known medicines. Then on 2004, India changed its patent standards to allow patents on chemicals. As of date, there are approximately 6,000 patents filed under the Indian government. India's patent system is designed to encourage firms to invest in low-cost manufacturing processes and make the generic medicines widely available to the market at low prices.

With this development, India is now producing roughly half of the world's antiretrovirals, most with modest cost and with the country also supplying much of the ingredients for the drug.


What is online pharmacy?

Since about the year 2000, hundreds of pharmacies have begun operating over the internet.
Many such pharmacies are, in some ways, similar to community pharmacies; the primary difference is the method by which the medications are requested and received. Some customers consider this to be more convenient than traveling to a community drugstore.

Do I need a prescription to buy drugs via online pharmacy?

There are three schemes of selling prescription medicines using online pharmacies:
  1. Some pharmacies will sell such medications with a pre-written prescription only.
  2. The most of internet pharmacies do not require you to have a prior prescription, but will request you to fill a form containing information on your current and past medical condition relevant to the drug, current medical treatment. Then the pharmacy's physician will review the situation and write a proper prescription.
  3. In the past, there have been pharmacies offering the prescription drugs without a prescription or a doctor review.

Glossary of terms:

Brand-name drug

The first approved version of a drug.

Generic drugs

Equivalent versions of brand-name drugs approved for safety, efficacy, quality, and purity by the Food & Drug Administration.

Active ingredient

The specific chemical ingredient that makes a drug work.

Inactive ingredient

Ingredients that are used only as additives for color, flavor, binding, or bulk.

Online Pharmacies

Online Pharmacy (US)
Generic Pharmacy
Online Pharmacy (ED)

Medical News

FDA warns of infections tied to Tennessee pharmacy

WASHINGTON (AP) — Government health officials are investigating cases involving patients who suffered complications after being injected with potentially contaminated medications made by a Tennessee specialty pharmacy... more >>
Fri, 24 May 2013

Judge orders Philadelphia faith-healing couple held in son's death

By Dave Warner PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - A Philadelphia couple charged with murder after their baby died without medical care must be held in jail whether or not they make bail, a judge ruled on Friday. The couple, Herbert and Catherine Schaible, believe in faith healing, and those who share their beliefs might be willing to harbor them if they decide to flee, Judge Benjamin Lerner told a court hearing in Philadelphia. The Schaibles were charged with third-degree murder on Wednesday after the April 18 death of their seven-month-old son Brandon from bacterial pneumonia, dehydration and strep. ..... more >>
Fri, 24 May 2013

New U.S. fears emerge over tainted compounded steroids

By Toni Clarke (Reuters) - The Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it has received seven reports of illnesses in patients who took steroid injections compounded by a pharmacy in Tennessee. The FDA said full clinical information about the patients is still being gathered, but it suggested some of the problems were infections and that "at least one of these infections appears to be fungal in nature." The steroid in question is same one - methylprednisolone acetate - that was linked to a meningitis outbreak last year that has killed some 53 people and sickened more than 700. ..... more >>
Fri, 24 May 2013

Valeant near deal to acquire Bausch & Lomb: source

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Fri, 24 May 2013

Sex and the Superbug: Meet Antibiotic-Resistant Gonorrhea

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Fri, 24 May 2013

Novo obesity drug could launch in U.S. end 2014

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk said it could launch obesity treatment liraglutide in the United States by the end of next year and rejected some analysts' doubts over the medicine's commercial potential. The world's biggest insulin producer is hoping the treatment for severe obesity will help to at least partly offset the delay to its next generation insulin treatment Tresiba after U.S. regulators asked for more tests. ..... more >>
Fri, 24 May 2013

Lawmaker would give FDA more oversight of drug compounding

By Toni Clarke WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Representative Edward Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, on Thursday became the latest lawmaker to propose legislation that would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration greater regulatory authority over drug compounding. U.S. lawmakers, responding to a deadly meningitis outbreak in 2012, continue to wrestle with ways to regulate the pharmacies that compound large volumes of drugs for hospitals, individuals and clinics. ..... more >>
Thu, 23 May 2013

New J&J anti-depressant related to 'Special K' party drug

By Ransdell Pierson NEW BRUNSWICK, New Jersey (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson said it plans to seek approvals for 11 new drugs by 2017, including a treatment for patients with depression who have failed to benefit from standard medications. The intranasal drug, called esketamine, is closely related to a pediatric anesthetic called ketamine that has been shown in academic studies to ease symptoms rapidly in such patients, including a reduction in suicidal thoughts. Ketamine is also the active ingredient of the mood-altering party drug known as "Special K. ..... more >>
Thu, 23 May 2013

BTG says interventional medicine buys could boost sales to $1 bln

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Thu, 23 May 2013

Nebraska attorney general wants abortion clinic nurse's license revoked

By Katie Schubert OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) - Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning on Wednesday filed a petition to revoke the license of the only nurse at a controversial abortion clinic in the state for allegedly providing substandard care and improperly administering drugs. ..... more >>
Wed, 22 May 2013

Polish man gets quick face transplant after injury

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A 33-year-old Polish man received a face transplant just three weeks after being disfigured in a workplace accident, in what his doctors said Wednesday is the fastest time frame to date for such an operation. It was Poland's first face transplant... more >>
Wed, 22 May 2013

Merck's insomnia drug moves a step closer to U.S. approval

By Toni Clarke WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Merck & Co's experimental insomnia drug moved a step closer to U.S. approval on Wednesday after a panel of medical experts said it is effective and safe at lower doses. The advisory panel was convened to help the U.S. Food and Drug Administration decide whether to approve the drug, suvorexant, which would be the first in a new class of sedatives that block chemicals in the brain called orexins that help keep people awake. The drugs are designed to help people fall asleep and stay asleep. ..... more >>
Wed, 22 May 2013

Senate committee advances drug compounding bill

By Jessica Dye NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate committee on Wednesday unanimously approved legislation that would increase federal oversight for companies that compound and sell sterile drugs across state lines. The proposed legislation was introduced in response to a meningitis outbreak last fall that killed more than 50 people and sickened more than 700. The outbreak was traced to contamination found in steroid injections made by the New England Compounding Center. The bill was passed unanimously on a voice vote by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee. ..... more >>
Wed, 22 May 2013

Vitamin C may not treat gout: study

By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Daily vitamin C supplements don't lower uric acid as much as drugs used to treat high levels of the acid that's responsible for gout, says a new study from New Zealand. "It's not that the vitamin C didn't reduce the uric acid level at all, it's just so small that it wouldn't make a difference from the patients' perspectives," said Dr. Lisa Stamp, the study's lead author from the University of Otago in Christchurch. ..... more >>
Wed, 22 May 2013

‘Club Drug’ Ketamine Lifts Depression in Hours

The largest study to date confirms that ketamine — a “club drug” that is also legally used as an anesthetic — could be a quick and effective way to relieve depression... more >>
Wed, 22 May 2013

Thrifty Merrimack developing new cancer drugs at lower cost

By Bill Berkrot NEW YORK (Reuters) - Little known biotechnology company Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc has quietly built a large pipeline of experimental cancer treatments that it aims to deliver at a fraction of the cost spent by larger rivals. That could translate into lower-cost treatments for large unmet needs, such as pancreatic cancer, at precisely the time when pressure is mounting to reduce runaway healthcare spending. ..... more >>
Wed, 22 May 2013
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