(StatePoint) At a time when many basic living expenses are rising, generic medicines play a critical role in expanding access to safe, effective and affordable treatments, helping patients avoid difficult tradeoffs between their health and other basic needs.
In fact, generic drugs account for over 90% of all U.S. prescriptions, saving patients and the U.S. healthcare system hundreds of billions annually, according to the Association for Accessible Medicines.
Despite their prevalence, patients often have questions about how generic medicines work and how they differ from compounded medicines.
Amneal, a U.S. based global biopharmaceutical company focused on expanding access to high-quality medicines, is providing answers to commonly asked questions:
Do the medications advertised on television as “generics” work as well as brand-name medicines? Sometimes a patient will see an advertisement online or get a telehealth prescription for a “generic” that turns out to be a compounded medication.
Generics are equivalent versions of brand-name medicines, which means that the generic medicines have the same active ingredients, dosages, strengths, routes of administration, conditions of use and labeling. Often the television advertisements are compounded or “pharmacy-made” medications. Unlike a compounded medicine, an FDA-approved generic must demonstrate bioequivalence, this ensures the product’s identity, strength, quality and purity. These rigorous standards mean that generic medicine works in the same way and provides the same clinical benefit as the brand-name medicine. Put simply, patients can expect the same safety and effectiveness from FDA-approved generics medicine as they would from their brand-name counterparts.
What types of medicines have generic equivalents? Generic equivalents encompass a wide range of medications made possible by continued innovation and investment in complex drug development and manufacturing.
The number of U.S. facilities manufacturing generic medicines declined by 27% since 2013. By contrast, Amneal continues to invest in its New York, New Jersey and Kentucky-based manufacturing and distribution capacity to deliver a reliable supply of complex oral solids, injectables, ophthalmics, liquids, topicals, softgels, inhalation products and transdermals across a broad range of therapeutic categories. The consistent supply of complex and high barrier generic medicines that are more difficult to manufacture, yet still more affordable, is critical for patients and providers.
“At Amneal, we’re focused on expanding access to essential medicines by taking on complex products others may not, because every dose matters. The manufacturing engine of our generics — or affordable medicines as we call them — is built for reliability and trust, delivering high-quality medicines when and where patients need them most and helping create a more sustainable healthcare system,” says Chirag Patel, Amneal’s co-founder and co-chief executive officer.
Are generic medicines safe? FDA-approved generics can give doctors and patient confidence that they have undergone strict regulatory review and ongoing quality oversight. Patients can also reduce exposure to potential counterfeit or unsafe products by looking for the “FDA Approved” label, which can be verified using trusted resources such as FDA.gov and DailyMed, and by watching for these possible signs:
• Does the medicine or packaging look different than what you normally receive?
• Have you experienced a new or unusual side effect after using the medicine?
• Did you buy the medicine from an online pharmacy?
To learn more about generic medicines, talk with your doctor or pharmacist or visit https://amneal.com.
Continued investment in complex generics and U.S.-based manufacturing is helping make medicines more affordable and reliable, resulting in healthier patients, stronger communities, and a more sustainable healthcare system.
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