Drugs are used to treat or control symptoms and diseases. What happens when the brand name is doing a fine job but then you are switched to a generic due to costs? All of the sudden you are having the same symptoms of your disease prior to medication. Aren’t the medications made up of the same ingredients? How does the nurse explain to her patient why this is happening? This article discusses how patients had side effects from generics that they weren’t having from brand name drugs. An FDA investigation was conducted and the results were deafening.
Dr. Joe Zealberg, a psychiatrist, speaks from his clinical experience with antidepressants. He states one of his patients had ”unconsolable crying” when she was taking the generic form of Wellbutrin. He also reported that 8 of 10 patients had similar side effects. So, he switched his patients back to Wellbutrin.
The FDA did an investigation and attributed the side effects to drug manufacturing. The generic drug contains active ingredients of the original, however it also has inactive ingredients that the Brand Name drug does not contain. So it isn’t exactly the same. This can lead to alterations in the pharmakodynamics of the drug. Pharmakodynamics consists of how the drug is administered, distributed in the body, metablized or processed by the liver, and eliminated from the body. You have already learned from our previous posts that the FDA allows other companies to manufacture the same drug after the patent has expired on for the Brand Name. The generic drug is not required to do research on its drug form. So the article is begging the question: Is it exactly the same??
The approval tests for brand name drugs are expensive and lengthy in time, but once the patent expires, other drug companies have access to the active ingredients. There is really no way of telling what the side effects could be until they are experienced by a patient and then reported. What does this mean for you as the nurse and consumer? Read the article and give us your comments!!
Source: Wall Street Journal Online, Melinda Beck, 2008
http://finance.yahoo.com/insurance/article/104935/Inexact-Copies-How-Generics-Differ-From-Brand-Names
In The News
Below is a video from MSNBC that talks about instances where generic drugs may not have been as safe as the brand name. Buyers should be aware when switching from brand name to generic drugs . Saving money is a great idea, but if it cost you your health, is it really worth the save? What are your thoughts?
Source: Today on MSNBC.COM, May 26, 2009
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/30940055#30940055
Patients taking antidepressants like Wellbutrin XL may want to think twice before switching to a generic form of the drug to save money. An MSNBC report states that in the particular case of one woman, panic attacks and suicidal thoughts came back after leaving the brand name drug for a more affordable alternative.
