Most of them are. Seems like all the non-generic drugs that I get are bright primary colors and the generics are drab, which causes me to think that they aren’t as good as non-generic.
Maybe I’m just not taking enough drugs.
BTW are generic drugs the exact same thing as non-generic?
The active ingredients in generic drugs are exactly the same. The inactive ingredients (in the case of color, artificial coloring) differ in many cases.
In general this isn’t a problem, but at least some doctors have questioned whether a few generic drugs cause problems because of the inactive ingredients. This is more of a coase by case (many times a patient by patient) problem and I know of no independent study to back up that position.
Im pretty sure that certain colors & shapes are like a trademark as that’s how you find them in the Physicians Desk Reference, aha.
The name brand drugs have to demonstrate bio-availability, i.e. .125 mg of Lanoxin will give you a certain level of Lanoxin (active ingredient digoxin) in the blood. Generics don’t have to demonstrate bio-availability, just that they too have .125 mg of digoxin in their product. Whether it’s absorbed the same way as the name-brand product is the basis for a lot of arguing. That’s where disputes about the so called “inactive” ingredients come in, as a lot of them can change absorption of the drug.
And those pretty colors the big name pharmaceutical companies put out are for product recognition for the most part, to command brand loyalty, and keep people from accepting “boring” looking generics, who skip the pretty colors 'cuz they cost more.
This backfired once. Valium was changed into a pill with a “V” cut out of the middle, and customers complained they were being cheated of the full dose 'cuz of the hole in the tab.
The post by Q is a piece of baloney. There is no substance named “Lanoxin” (with capital L!). “Lanoxin” contains digoxin and some inactive compounds. Bioavailability has nothing to do with drug/substance concentration in the blood (plasma, to be precise). Brand name or generic, a drug is supposed to have a certain plasma concentration at certain time after entering the body (it may differ somewhat if taken not intravenously). If a brand name does not give the same plasma level as the pure compound does, it should be clearly stated by the manufacturer. Inactive ingredients may influence the rates of absorption.
The colorings used for identification purposes are usually neutral as far as other qualities go (if they are active by themselfes, they would require FDA approval themselves). The colors does NOT change the action of the drug (cf. nail polish) and should cause no concern.
peace, perhaps you could elaborate on that? First you say that there is no such substance as Lanoxin, and then you tell us what’s in it? Does it exist, or not?
To add to the confusion about the coloring issue, most generics seem to follow a common coloring scheme. Drugs of a lesser dose seem to be lightly colored, while stronger doses seem to be darker. This is true in the case of Alprazolam, the generic form of Xanax, for instance, with the 0.25mg being white, the 0.5 orange, and the 1 mg blue. Other controlled substances seem to follow a similiar coloring scheme, such as Oxycontin. Coumadin, on the other hand, goes the opposite way, with the 1 mg being a bright pink and the 10 mg being white. Go figure. Maybe the light-to-dark issue is mostly true only for controlled substances.
Chronos, Lanoxin is simply a brand name of the cardiac drug digoxin, which increases the strength of the pumping mechanism of the heart while slowing the actual rate. It is widely prescribed, and is used for patients with Chronic Heart Failure, Atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, and paroxysmal atrial tachycardia.
Chronos,
in the above example, digoxin (small d) is substance’s “common” name. In general, millions of known chemicals/substances/compounds, do not have a “common” name. A chemical name can be usually made, such as monohydrochloride of [4S-4alpha,4aalpha,5aalpha,6beta,12aalpha,)]-4-(Dimethylamino)-1,4,4a,5,5a,6,11,12a-octahydro-3,6,10,12,12a-pentahydroxy-6-methyl-1,11-dioxo-2-naphthaacenecarboxamide. A name like this still does not convey stereoisomeric qualities of the compound, so if one chemist would tell(!) this name to another one, the latter wouldn’t be able to recreate it, because more than one srereoisomere will fit the descriptive name. So, for used compounds, “common” names are invented (out of the blue or according to twisted and arbitrary rules). The above compound is called tetracycline HCl [i.e., hydrocloride]. Under this name it’s entered in the USP (US Pharmacopeia), medical and pharmacological textbooks, pharmacopeias of other countries, etc. All people see “tetracycline HCl” (with small t) and they know exactly what is meant. Lederle Laboratories (division of American Cyanamid Co, 1 Cyanamid Plaza, Wayne, NJ07470), sells a mixture of this compound in capsules as Achromycin V (Roman 5). Roberts Pharmaceutical Corporation makes a solution for local skin application with this compound, which does not differ chemically or biologically from tetracycline HCl and sells it as Topicycline. Apothecon (Bristol-Myers Squibb) sells it as Sumycin, Mylan Pharmaceuticals sells it as Tetracyclin HCl Capsules. The names are capitalised. It means that a product has a “parent”, and that it’s not a chemical or “common” name.
Back to digoxin. Lanoxin (cap.L)is the trade (brand) name under which the drug is marketed by Burroughs Wellcome. Another company (or BW) may market it under a different name, or, after the patent expires, as digoxin. So, there is no such substance as Lanoxin. There is digoxin, which is good for sick heart. Lanoxin is just a name. Any other name can be attached to digoxin. The manufacturers ARE REQUIRED to always use chemical or common name, as it appears in the USP (not PDR) whenever the trade/brand name is mentioned. So, the drugs can be compared.
It was long, but I hope that now you better understand that there is only one chemical compound with certain biological qualities called acetaminophen. By using “inactive” ingredients, drug companies can change some qualities, like color, taste, etc. Changing certain qualities significantly, such as solubility, may interfere with bioavailability, etc., and will require approval by the FDA. You probably know acetaminophen as Acoda#3 (Everett), Anexia5/500 (SmithCline Beecham), Excedrin (Bristol Myers),Tylenol (McNeil), and many other names. They all will assure you that acetaminophen is no good. It does not taste good, it’s of ugly color, it may kill you if you don’t pay them enough money, etc. Do not believe them.