What are “generic medications”? What is the difference between a brand name medicine and a generic one?
They differ in name, color, shape. They also have different prices. Brand-name drugs have the name of the brand, and the generic medications usually get their names of its active ingredient. But the producer cannot have the patent for the certain chemical agent, so the producer of the generic medications can produce the so-called “generics”. As they are equal chemically, they have the same active ingredient, so they cause the same medical effect. You get the same result, but pay less for the medications. Of course, you get the intended result only by following all the instructions of your health care provider.
Why are the prices for generic medicines so low?
Research, development, advertising – this is the large part of the costs, incurred by producers of brand-name medications. There are no such needs for generic drugs. In the U.S. the expense of obtaining FDA approval is enormous. Producers of the generic medications don’t need to recover these costs. Therefore, there is huge cost savings.
The pills do not look like the brand name medication. The pills I have received have a different name printed on them. Why?
As it was said – the producer cannot have the patent for the certain chemical agent. So the generics can contain the same active ingredients as the brand-name drugs. But names, shape and color of medications are always patented and should be considered as the intellectual property. A producer, producing generic medications will be accused of the copyright infringement for using the name and the shape of the brand drugs. That’s the reason why generic pills have different look, they are of a different color and shape, as compared with brand-name drugs.
What about the shelf life of the medications?
Each blister has the expiry date. The expiry date for different batches is different. The shelf life is 2 years from the date of manufacture. It would differ from batch to batch depending on when they were produced.
What is the difference between 50mg Viagra tabs and 100mg tabs?
We offer generic Viagra in 50mg and 100mg tabs. These are fixed dosages of the active ingredient Sildenafil: so, a 50mg Viagra pill contains 50 mg of Sildenafil and a 100mg Viagra pill contains 100mg of Sildenafil concentrate. A 50mg pill is the standard dose for achieving the effect. But Sildenafil effects differently on different people, that’s why we recommend to start with 25mg (split a 50mg pill in two and take one half only) to check if this is enough for you. If it’s not enough – take the whole 50mg pill.