Generic drug makers, once seen as the cure for high-priced prescription drugs, now are seen as the culprits. They too want the same kind of profit that the brand name manufacturers earn. This astounding situation happens although these manufacturers have not had the investment and expense of developing and marketing new drugs. How can this happen?
Although generic drugs are given brand names by their makers, this has not been worth the effort because branding generics has no value to patients. What generic makers have done is a scheme of consolidation of competitors so that drug pricing can be managed without competition. The drug maker, Teve, started this system of “miniature monopolies.”
Here are two shocking examples. The price of alprazolam, the generic name for Xanax, increased 200%. Alprazolam calms anxiety and promotes restful sleep for harried and worried Americans. Doxycyline, a generic antibiotic for 30 years, increased 100 percent. Doxycline has cured sexually transmitted diseases for years, a standard of treatment for impoverished as well as wealthy countries.
Generic companies are regulated much less. For instance, the testing hurdle is not the same for generics because the drugs are the same as the brands. Equally important, generic manufacturers have been granted immunity against lawsuits. For instance, if a generic company fails to warn about a drug causing harm, they have no obligation to make amends.
Generic drugs should be regulated the same as brands. The inactive ingredients, although carefully selected in the formula, are NOT the same; each company has its own formulas. Some formulas do not release the drug at all. Some release a potent drug immediately or release the drug erratically. These results concern life and death. And in some cases, for example brands like Synthroid and Digoxin, there is no equivalent generic. Without regulation, how can the public guard against useless or dangerous imitations?
Years ago generics first appeared as “lookalike” drugs. If the brand was a blue and pink capsule, the generic could be made to imitate the brand exactly. However, brand name makers quickly made that masquerade illegal. Generics are not “look alike,” but they are becoming “price alike.” What started as a boon for consumers is turning into a bust for the ill, the elderly, indeed, everyone. The mask of saving lives disappeared, revealing the true face of greed and profit. That is disgusting.