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Purchasing Generic Medication – Read more from Online Reviews

By: Andy Fox


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Generic drugs, or generics, are perceived as a category of drugs which were created and sold without patent or brand name. These pills are essentially the same to their branded counterparts. It is said that generics are equivalent to branded drugs in formulation, effectiveness, safety, quantity and manner of administration. The main difference of generics from branded is the fact that generics cost less. Actually, generic medication, as well as those which were approved by the Food and Drug Administration, cost 70% less on average. The US Congressional Budget office estimates that annual savings because of generic drugs range from eight to ten billion dollars.

Branded drugs enjoy protection from patents. Patenting a product means that you are the documented innovator of the medication. This allows for the producer to earn back their cost incurred from research and development of the pill since they are given special rights to create, market and sell such medication. However, patents only apply for a limit of 20 years; thus giving an opportunity for other manufacturers to sell generic types of that branded medication. They are able to sell them at a lower price because of two reasons: 1. they did not spend money for the research and patent fees of the drug; and 2. is because of competition. Since there are more companies selling the same medication, they try to offer the lowest price possible.

One of the biggest concerns regarding generic medication is safety. This is an understandable concern especially for generics manufactured outside of FDA regulation. On the other hand, those that did pass FDA tests are the same as their branded counterparts since the FDA only approves them if they have the same composition, dosage, quality, and more. They may sometimes look different but the fact is, they are just the same.

In the United States, about half of all prescriptions today are for generic pills. This significant boost is caused by the amount of patients persuading their doctors to give them generic medication in place of branded ones. In 2008, global sales of generic drugs shot up by 170% since 2003 with almost half of these sales coming from the United States. This boost in popularity is generally credited to the low cost of generics.

Moreover, generic pills are offered even cheaper through online pharmacies. These online pharmacies would usually offer generic drugs manufactured from other countries such as India and are considered as a great opportunity to save money. However, not all online pharmacies are equal and there are those who try to get profit through deceptive means. This is why constant care is needed when buying from such sites. In order to find which online pharmacies are safe to buy from, it is best to visit online pharmacy review sites first. From there, consumers can learn from the experiences of other people from particular pharmacies. At the same time, some of these review sites show a list of top notch online pharmacies as well. Saving money need not come with a huge risk, so read first before purchasing.

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