Vitals.com
The Generic Pharmaceutical Association’s slogan is “Same Medicine, Same Results.” Unfortunately this is not always the case, according to an article in the New York Times.
Patients, doctors and everyone else are all in agreement over the value of generic drugs. Not only do they save Americans 10 billion dollars a years, make medication accessible to those who need it, but also force down the price of brand name drugs.
Patients, doctors and everyone else are all in agreement over the value of generic drugs. Not only do they save Americans 10 billion dollars a years, make medication accessible to those who need it, but also force down the price of brand name drugs.
“For many drugs, generics are just fine,” says Dr. Kimford Meador, a professor of neurology at Emory University. “But when you are taking a seizure medication…If the absorption of the drug is slightly different between brand and generic then the patient could have a seizure and that seizure could lead to serious injury or perhaps death.”
although both products released the same amount of the active ingredient over 16 hours, the generic version released almost half of its medication after four hours and the brand name only one-quarter
According to Vitals.com, Dr. Meador completed his medical degree and residency at the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine.
The FDA ensures the public that to be marketed in the United States these drugs must “bioequivilant” to their brand name equivalents, meaning the same doses of the same active ingredient is delivered in the same way according to the same standards of quality.
But some specialists worry that the allowable range is too wide, especially for patients taking medication to control problems like arrhythmias or seizures. Studies that were published in the journal Neurology, reported patients who switched to generics products had more seizures and higher hospitalization rates
Kathleen Jaeger, president of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association, sees this controversy as a propagandist plot masterminded by brand name drug companies. But doctors and psycho pharmacologists believe the FDA is ignoring the reality that in certain cases generic drugs can create serious problems for patients.
“If a patient with heart arrhythmia gets a blood thinner for which the levels are too low there is a risk for stroke and if the levels are too high it could result in bleeding,” says Dr. James A. Reiffel, a cardiologist and professor of clinical medicine at Columbia.
According to Vitals.com, Dr. Reiffel completed his medical degree and residency at Columbia University.
Wellbutrin XL, the fourth-most prescribed antidepressant in the United States with 20.184 million prescription sold in 2007, is an example of an effective brand name drug whose generic equivalent disappointed many.
Joe and Teresa Graedon publish a popular syndicated column, The People’s Pharmacy, and are founders of a respected multimedia clearinghouse. In the summer of 2007 they had received so many complaints about the generic version of Wellbutrin XL, they decided to do an independent study collaborating with ConsumerLab.com. The results were astounding.
Among their many findings they discovered that although both products released the same amount of the active ingredient over 16 hours, the generic version released almost half of its medication after four hours and the brand name only one-quarter. This accounted for the side effects so many patients were experiencing, including irritability, headaches, insomnia and a depressed mood toward the end of the cycle.
Nowadays generics constitute almost 70 percent of all prescriptions dispensed nationwide and work well for many people. But with health insurers pressuring patients to use these drugs, patients and doctors need to be vigilant. When switching from a brand name to a generic, keep tabs on how they are affecting you. Report all your concerns to your doctor or to the FDA’s adverse events monitoring system, called MedWatch (www.fda.gov/medwatch).
The FDA ensures the public that to be marketed in the United States these drugs must “bioequivilant” to their brand name equivalents, meaning the same doses of the same active ingredient is delivered in the same way according to the same standards of quality.
But some specialists worry that the allowable range is too wide, especially for patients taking medication to control problems like arrhythmias or seizures. Studies that were published in the journal Neurology, reported patients who switched to generics products had more seizures and higher hospitalization rates
Kathleen Jaeger, president of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association, sees this controversy as a propagandist plot masterminded by brand name drug companies. But doctors and psycho pharmacologists believe the FDA is ignoring the reality that in certain cases generic drugs can create serious problems for patients.
“If a patient with heart arrhythmia gets a blood thinner for which the levels are too low there is a risk for stroke and if the levels are too high it could result in bleeding,” says Dr. James A. Reiffel, a cardiologist and professor of clinical medicine at Columbia.
According to Vitals.com, Dr. Reiffel completed his medical degree and residency at Columbia University.
Wellbutrin XL, the fourth-most prescribed antidepressant in the United States with 20.184 million prescription sold in 2007, is an example of an effective brand name drug whose generic equivalent disappointed many.
Joe and Teresa Graedon publish a popular syndicated column, The People’s Pharmacy, and are founders of a respected multimedia clearinghouse. In the summer of 2007 they had received so many complaints about the generic version of Wellbutrin XL, they decided to do an independent study collaborating with ConsumerLab.com. The results were astounding.
Among their many findings they discovered that although both products released the same amount of the active ingredient over 16 hours, the generic version released almost half of its medication after four hours and the brand name only one-quarter. This accounted for the side effects so many patients were experiencing, including irritability, headaches, insomnia and a depressed mood toward the end of the cycle.
Nowadays generics constitute almost 70 percent of all prescriptions dispensed nationwide and work well for many people. But with health insurers pressuring patients to use these drugs, patients and doctors need to be vigilant. When switching from a brand name to a generic, keep tabs on how they are affecting you. Report all your concerns to your doctor or to the FDA’s adverse events monitoring system, called MedWatch (www.fda.gov/medwatch).
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