# Proprietary vs Generic medications? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 12, 2015, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proprietary-vs-generic-medications/737362 "2015-11-12T07:27:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proprietary-vs-generic-medications/737362/1 "2015-11-12T07:27:31Z")
Whenever I’ve needed a script filled, and the pharmacist asks me whether I want the proprietary or the generic med, I’ve always opted for the generic, figuring there would be no difference in the medicinal effect yada yada. But ONE of my meds has a distinct difference that I’ve noticed…in that taking one pill of the branded variety eases my symptoms almost immediately, but one pill of the generic is not enough and I often need to take a second one, even though they are technically the same ingredients and stuff. I’ve never had this with other meds, and wonder if it’s a common occurrence? ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proprietary-vs-generic-medications/737362/2 "2015-11-12T07:37:16Z")
I’ve never noticed any difference but the only prescription medication I take are anti-hypertensives, so I doubt I’d be aware of any lag. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proprietary-vs-generic-medications/737362/3 "2015-11-12T09:57:32Z")
It’d not common. Sometimes the brand does make a difference, but it’s a rare phenomena. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proprietary-vs-generic-medications/737362/4 "2015-11-12T14:29:26Z")
By law, generic medications must have chemically identical active ingredients to the name brand, in the same amounts. Inactive ingredients, like coatings or whatnot, are allowed to vary. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2015, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proprietary-vs-generic-medications/737362/5 "2015-11-12T15:00:56Z")
There have been a few notable cases where a generic medication isn’t absorbed the same way as the original. This can cause excessive side effects if the drug is absorbed too quickly, or reduced effectiveness if the drug is absorbed too slowly. I recall a specific case where a generic form of [extended-release wellbutrin (bupropion) was pulled from the market](http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformationforPatientsandProviders/ucm322161.htm) because it wasn’t being absorbed at the correct rate. Apparently the 150 mg dose was tested and showed proper bioequivalency, but the 300 mg was not. After the FDA got complains of poor efficacy, they found that two out of five made a generic that did not meet the standards for bioequivalence. Those two were pulled from the market. I suspect there may be many other generics that have similar differences that we don’t know about. Most of the time it’s not a problem because absorption rates aren’t super critical. It’s only for a few types of drugs where dosing needs to be precise and steady that not-quite-bioequivalence is a problem. (Post-approval, can generic manufacturers make minor changes to coatings, fillers, and the manufacturing process?) ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proprietary-vs-generic-medications/737362/6 "2015-11-13T00:10:44Z")
There are a few drugs where the generic is thought not to work as well as the brand name. The only one I can think of off the top of my head is generic tetracycline vs. the brand name, for acne treatment. More than one dermatologist has mentioned this. ---
**Author:** ![corvidae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@corvidae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corvidae)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proprietary-vs-generic-medications/737362/7 "2015-11-13T02:28:18Z")
I’ve heard of this. My opthamologist feels that the name brand of xalatan (latanoprost) works better to control intraocular pressure than the generic version. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proprietary-vs-generic-medications/737362/8 "2015-11-13T03:00:18Z")
I noticed that one company’s generic of my triptan migraine med just plain old doesn’t work, while all the other generics (I think there are two or three) work fine. It can’t be the reverse placebo effect. I expected it to work and it didn’t. I’ve bought the generics of this drug since they became available and have never had a problem with any of them but this one. My pharmacist now fills the 'script with any generic brand but. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2015, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proprietary-vs-generic-medications/737362/9 "2015-11-13T03:52:47Z")
Kambuckta have you tried going from the branded to the generic and back again? One thought that occurs to me - and obviously I know nothing about what you are taking - is that if you started out on the branded and went to the generic, you might be confusing a diminished effectiveness of the drug over time with the change from branded to generic. Just a thought. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proprietary-vs-generic-medications/737362/10 "2015-11-18T14:01:34Z")
There was a scandal several years ago when some generic Thyroid hormone meds weren’t up to snuff. I used to take a med where the generic gave me terrible heartburn but the brand name one didn’t. Presumably a buffering ingredient had to be added. Had to keep getting the doc to mark the no sub box on the Rx form. Usually the same, but here and there it’s an issue. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proprietary-vs-generic-medications/737362/11 "2015-11-18T14:45:11Z")
My wife had one prescription, Losec, (=Prilosec in the US) where the generic worked better, although I don’t recall how. So they can be different. I know one woman who will not use any generic ever. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proprietary-vs-generic-medications/737362/12 "2015-11-18T16:34:16Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > There was a scandal several years ago when some generic Thyroid hormone meds weren’t up to snuff. I was going to come in and point that out- my wife’s endocrinologist is very adamant that she get the name-brand thyroid medicine, and not the generic. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proprietary-vs-generic-medications/737362/13 "2015-11-18T17:02:44Z")
The fact that the placebo effect exists makes it really hard to measure this difference without doing blind tests of generic vs. brand. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2015, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proprietary-vs-generic-medications/737362/14 "2015-11-18T17:43:44Z")
I require the brand name for one of my several meds. The generic simply doesn’t work as well. During a trial-and-error period, I found that some of the generics work O.K. but the brand name always works.