We live in a society that increasingly depends on the drugs for its health and well being. There are drugs for everything ranging from headaches to nausea   the drug and medicine industry is perhaps the most profitable business of the twenty first century and the drug manufacturers have created a multibillion dollar industry out of something that is so essential to the human well being.

The pricing of drugs is another interesting feature of the medicine industry. There are two types of drugs that are normally found in the market, the first one is the branded drug while the other is known as the generic drug.

There is no need to cringe at the name of the generic drugs as they are identical in chemical composition to the branded drugs. The reason behind the generic drugs being priced lower than the branded drugs is that they are not advertised so vigorously to the buyers.  Whenever a pharmaceutical company comes up with a new drug, they patent the formula of this new discovery. The patent is viable for few years and after that, the chemical formulas can be used by every other company. As the patent draws to an end, the other pharmaceutical companies can apply to the FDA so that they can manufacture and sell the generic versions of the drug. The generic version of a certain drug means that the chemical composition is the same but the marketing name is different, that’s it.

Since the new companies do not have to invest in the research development and initial marketing of the drug, the costs of making it is significantly lower than that incurred by the parent company. The generic drugs are manufactured using similar procedures under the sterile conditions like any other company. There is absolutely no truth to the myth that the generic drugs are made from low quality raw materials, in fact FDA monitors and checks the quality of each and every drug that is released into the market.

The companies producing the same generic drugs might be engaged in a price war and that may cause the price to go down even further. The price of the generic drug is significantly lower than it s branded counterparts, which makes it a more economic option for many users.

Another common misconception is that the generic drugs work slower than the branded ones, this is not true at all. As long as the chemical formula is the same, two drugs whether they are generic or branded are basically the same thing. What you see in front of your eyes is difference in packaging and presentation of the drug, once it reaches your stomach it takes the same course of action as its costlier relative. The generic drugs are just as fast acting and potent in similar dosages as the branded drugs.

If you are worried about consuming generic drugs, you should consult your physician and he/she will be able to guide you in the right direction.