Don’t always assume generic drugs are identical to brand-name counterparts
We normally write about online pharmacy scams and safety on this blog. But the fact is, with the FDA so understaffed and underfunded in recent years, there have also been safety issues with the drugs you pick up from your corner Walmart.
We at NPN love generic drugs because they compete with overpriced brand-name drugs, forcing prices down. That’s why Walmart (and other discount retailers) can sell certain generic drugs for as little as $10 for a 90-day supply.
Teva Pharmaceuticals, a leading generic drug manufacturer, touts the claim that generic drugs are just as good as brand-name drugs in its new ad campaign:
We would love to agree with Teva. But we’re afraid it’s just not true in all cases.
The problem is that the FDA has not done its part here. The agency has not inspected the plants of generic drug makers to the extent that they should. As the People’s Pharmacy reports:
There … have been numerous recalls of generic drugs. Despite frequent assurances that such copycat medications are identical to their brand-name counterparts, scores of products have been recalled.
Last fall, the FDA banned a huge Indian pharmaceutical company, Ranbaxy, from bringing 30 different generic drugs into the U.S. Nothing more specific than “manufacturing violations” was cited. Nevertheless, Ranbaxy’s generic versions of drugs such as the cholesterol-lowering medicine simvastatin or the antibiotic ciprofloxacin were not allowed into the U.S.
More recently, a generic manufacturer called ETHEX, a division of KV Pharmaceutical, withdrew 60 generic drugs from the market. This might be just the tip of an iceberg. Hundreds of people have been complaining to their physicians and online that their generic drugs are not performing as expected. No one knows how big a problem this may be.
Fortunately, there is a way to purchase brand name drugs for less — sometimes for as little as the generic costs at your neighborhood Walmart. That’s by buying them at a licensed Canadian pharmacy.
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