From time to time, you may find yourself asking the question “brand-name or generic prescriptions?” Do you know that according to the FDA, generic drugs cannot be sold as such unless they meet the governmental standards? Therefore, we can conclude that generic drugs are just as effective and safe as the brand name drugs.
Of course there are some differences between brand-name and generic prescriptions drugs. One of them is the price. What makes brand-name drugs more expensive is that when major pharmaceutical companies bring a new prescription drug on to the market, major pharmaceutical companies have to pay for its development, for its promotion and for the patent of the newly developed drug. However, there comes the time where the patent expires and other, smaller, generic brand manufacturers can produce the drug themselves under a different name and once this happens, this drives the price down for essentially the same product.
Yes, the drugs may differ in color, shape, taste, inactive ingredients, preservatives and packaging, but they are essentially the same. Generic drugs contain the same active ingredient(s) as the brand-name drugs, in the same dosage form, at the same dose or concentration, and for the same route of administration. Generic drugs are also manufactured in accordance with good manufacturing practices (GMPs), and are as pure and stable as the brand-name drugs. This means that the drug will do the same thing via the same mechanism, and will also follow the same distribution, metabolism and elimination pathways in the body. So every time you have the drugs prescriptions, the answer of your question is all up to you.