Are Brand Name Prescription Drugs Really Better Quality?

Most medicines are complex, relatively sophisticated compounds. Although they may be difficult to manufacture, the real challenge comes in the purification process. This brings me to the point of this column: generic vs. brand name medicine.

When a drug manufacturer markets a compound, the medication is renamed- There are many reasons for this. One is that chemicals have long names that do not lend themselves to retailing. Consumers are much less inclined to order, and doctors to remember, the generic trihexyphenidyl than its brand name, Artane - the anti- Parkinson' s-disease product by Lederle.

In addition, by promising purity and uniformity, the manufacturer hopes its brand will become synonymous with quality and will, therefore, be prescribed to the exclusion of lower-grade generics. For example, Lederle once captured a large portion of the tetracyclinemarket because its brand, Achromycin, contained what it was supposed to contain: exactly 250 mg. of purified tetracycline per blue-and-yellow capsule.

Some years ago, a study revealed that the heart-pill digoxin had enormous variability in potency and strength, depending on where it was made; only Lanoxin, by Burroughs Wellcome, was consistent, and it became the gold standard for digoxin preparations. It costs a lot of money to run a real first-class quality-control program. One way to cut overhead is to manufacture medicine cheaply and reduce quality control. That is precisely what is being done by many less-sophisticated drug companies, especially those in other countries.

Patients and doctors often are unaware that the generic version may not be up to snuff. A decade or so ago, tetracycline made in Italy and sold in this country was found to vary all over the place in purity and potency. In a study released in 1980, scientists reported that brand-name manufacturers were responsible for 70 percent of all drug production, but were subject to less than 20 percent of all drug recalls.

The brand-name-vs.-generic dilemma is very much a problem in today's medical world. We all want quality at reasonable prices. However, we tend to disregard the fact that there is much more cost variation between pharmacies than there is between brand-name drugs and their generic equivalents. Consumers usually will get a better deal by price-shopping than by insisting on generic only. Patients always will obtain a more satisfactory product by purchasing drugs manufactured by a trustworthy pharmaceutical house, whether those drugs are brand-name or generic forms made by that reputable company.

The brand-name brouhaha is based less on the names of medicines than it is on the issue of who makes them. To make sure that you are getting what you need, you may have to lean heavily on your pharmacist. Don't accept medicine made by companies whose dependability and reliability have not been proved- If you do, you may be getting less (or more, or something different) than you bargained for.

Sources:

Preston, John D. A Consumer's Guide to Psychiatric Drugs: Straight Talk for Patients and Their Families 2008

Rybacki, James J. The Essential Guide to Prescription Drugs 2006: Everything You Need To Know For Safe Drug Use 2006