Supported by Oscar
Sometimes a brand name signifies higher quality. As an example: "One might choose brand-name paper towels over generic paper towels, because the brand name offers more absorption," says Aaron Kesselheim, director of the Program on Regulation, Therapeutics, and Law at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
"But I don't think there is a compelling reason for patients to think about generic drugs in the same way as generic paper towels."When buying over-the-counter meds, just buy the cheaper store-brand generic. That's the unanimous consensus from the research and the experts. In every way that you care about, from effectiveness to safety, the store brand by law must be the same. For a generic drug to make it from the factory onto the shelf at CVS or Walgreen's, it absolutely must meet the FDA's following 6 conditions:
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- contain the same active ingredients as the innovator drug (inactive ingredients may vary)
- be identical in strength, dosage form, and route of administration
- have the same use indications
- be bioequivalent
- meet the same batch requirements for identity, strength, purity, and quality
- be manufactured under the same strict standards of FDA's good manufacturing practice regulations required for innovator product