Generic drugs were initially created as a way of making expensive medication accessible to people who cannot afford them otherwise. These drugs have the same active ingredient as the branded ones, but they are not well tested or researched.
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Some of the examples of generic drugs include Metformin, which is a medicine used by diabetic people and Metoprolol used by people suffering from hypertension to control their blood pressure.
How generic drugs pricing works
As the abovementioned diseases need to be treated lifelong, and people need to take medicines for them several times a week, using branded medication can really mess up their budget. Generic drugs help in fixing that problem.
But there are certain side effects to them. Since there is no strict monitoring or standardization process, companies often tend to change the composition of the drug. As a result, patients, as well as populations at large, are under a constant threat.
Drug manufacturing companies tend to change the standards according to the country they are selling in. For example, generic brand medicines sold in Europe and the US have a higher quality than the ones sent to Africa and other developing countries.
How patients are affected
Some Ugandan colleagues in Westberg realized this first. The inefficacy of the drugs became apparent when some patients died even after taking the drugs by the generic brands. These medicines failed to produce the results they were claiming. The patients’ health worsened even after taking these drugs.
However, patients should remember that all generic drugs are not unsafe. But it is almost impossible to determine which ones are okay, and which ones are not. Doctor’s advice should, therefore, be taken before making such decisions.
