Crestor, Lipitor...or the Generic

[Like2Plan]

Assumes that I have some control over the source of any medicine I take. Which I don't.

I think that is the point I'm trying to make here. Take a name brand drug with a known source or a generic in which you don't-- it could be one of the 4 or 5 companies worldwide including major pharmaceutical manufacturers like Teva that Disneysteve mentioned.... Or, it could be a company like Ranbaxy --I say a company like Ranbaxy because the FDA eventually halted their shipments--but, that took years and how many prescriptions were filled prior to that happening?

[disneysteve]

For the love of god stick to drugs made in the USA if you can.

Good luck with that. 80% of prescription drugs sold in the US come from India or China. Of the remaining 20%, a fair number of those come from other non-US sources.

If you limit yourself to drugs made in the US, you're going to have a really tough time treating pretty much any condition that you can think of.

[Like2Plan]

Also, generic drugs are treated differently when it comes to litigation.

Pharmaceutical Injury Cases: The Generic Drug Liability Problem
Here is a quote from the article:
"How Pliva v. Mensing Created a Loophole

The Pliva v. Mensing decision of 2011 is complicated, but in essence it held that generic manufacturers are not liable for the injuries caused by their drugs. Part of this is due to the fact that in order for a plaintiff to prevail in a lawsuit against the drug manufacturer, they must sue them under state laws that are stricter than the FDA’s regulations. This is because the federal law, the FDA, has already approved the drugs for the market. Because federal law usually preempts state laws, the generic companies appealed being held responsible, stating that they couldn’t possibly comply with both the state and federal laws (because they don’t set the makeup of the drug – the brand name does) and therefore the federal law, regulations by the FDA, must preempt the stricter state laws. The Court agreed, thus creating an entire class of Americans who have no legal recourse against the manufacturers of the drugs that injured them. "

[disneysteve]

Are you saying that the pharm co. sells a generic version too (like the old saying coke and pepsi are from the same parent company)?

Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying.

I mentioned Mobic earlier. That is made by Boehringer Ingelheim. When the generic first launched, the one and only company making a generic version was - Boehringer Ingelheim. Today, I'm sure there are others making it, too, but for a while, the only generic was made by the same people making the brand.

A more recent example: Colcrys is a gout medication made by Takeda. The authorized generic version, colchicine, is also made by Takeda. In fact, the sales reps still come to my office and encourage me to keep writing for the med even though it's generic since it's still their company manufacturing it.

[Like2Plan]

If you limit yourself to drugs made in the US, you're going to have a really tough time treating pretty much any condition that you can think of.

Just to piggyback on this (agreeing with you disneysteve)--many of the name brand drugs themselves are manufactured outside the US.

[sv2007]

Are you saying that the pharm co. sells a generic version too

I remember reading some news on this where brand name drug either lower price or started a generic label themselves to discourage the onset of cheap generic drugs. I only casually read the news because I have some drug company shares so got the news feed and it wasn't too relevant to my investments; i.e. I can't recall precisely. Anybody else rememebr this?

[Nutria]

I think that is the point I'm trying to make here. Take a name brand drug with a known source or a generic in which you don't-- it could be one of the 4 or 5 companies worldwide including major pharmaceutical manufacturers like Teva that Disneysteve mentioned.... Or, it could be a company like Ranbaxy --I say a company like Ranbaxy because the FDA eventually halted their shipments--but, that took years and how many prescriptions were filled prior to that happening?

How many times have Big Pharma fraudulently manipulated test results? Remember Vioxx? Now two new studies suggest that huge numbers of people may have been put at risk by taking Cox-2 inhibitors. The first, published online in The Lancet on Tuesday, suggests that Vioxx could have caused between 88,000 and 140,000 extra cases of serious coronary heart disease in the US.

[Like2Plan]

How many times have Big Pharma fraudulently manipulated test results? Remember Vioxx? Now two new studies suggest that huge numbers of people may have been put at risk by taking Cox-2 inhibitors. The first, published online in The Lancet on Tuesday, suggests that Vioxx could have caused between 88,000 and 140,000 extra cases of serious coronary heart disease in the US.

That is a wrong, too. (And, no telling how many times.) Shoot--maybe they will do a study and find out you are better off not taking drug X or drug Y...

But, I would still like to know if I am taking drug X or drug Y that it doesn't contain contaminants or the manufacturing company is not using dodgy raw ingredients to save a few bucks.

[disneysteve]

I would still like to know if I am taking drug X or drug Y that it doesn't contain contaminants or the manufacturing company is not using dodgy raw ingredients to save a few bucks.

Sure, but my point is that this happens with brand and generic meds alike.

It also happens with injectable meds like vaccines. Just last year both Glaxo Smith Kline and Sanofi Pasteur recalled multiple lots of flu vaccine. In 2011, Baxter recalled 300,000 doses of flu vaccine.

[sv2007]

One thing the years has taught me is that there are very few absolutes in this world. Bad things happen to even well run companies, but hopefully the frequency is lower.

If I take a step back and look at 2 business models: 1 model not based on cost cutting and has a brand name to protect and the other 1 entirely on cutting costs, I'd think the first type might be better bet on quality.

I'm not a fan on name brands; but when faced with an unknown, I'd pick a brand name over generic label.

[creditcardfree]

Slightly off topic: the best case would be to avoid taking ANY pharmaceuticals!

Eat whole foods and avoid the processed stuff. You'll be far better off eating food with nutrition to help heal you rather than just treat symptoms.

[Nutria]

Slightly off topic: the best case would be to avoid taking ANY pharmaceuticals!

Eat whole foods and avoid the processed stuff. You'll be far better off eating food with nutrition to help heal you rather than just treat symptoms.

That's just so, so, so wrong for so many different diseases.

My uncle was a health food nut, but died of cancer at age 58. Would have painfully wasted away many months earlier had we not surreptitiously doped his disgusting health food smoothies with ice cream in order to make them more palatable and boost the calorie count.

[disneysteve]

If I take a step back and look at 2 business models: 1 model not based on cost cutting and has a brand name to protect and the other 1 entirely on cutting costs, I'd think the first type might be better bet on quality

Do you really believe that big pharma companies (Merck, Lilly, Pfizer, etc.) are not focused on cutting costs and maximizing profits?

People can do whatever they'd like. The reality is that generics are safe, effective, and cheaper than their equivalent brand name counterpart.

I have a patient I've been seeing for 2-3 years. When we first met, she made it clear that she is "allergic" to all generic medication and everything has to be brand name. I went along with that for a bit but little by little, she's come around due to the outrageous cost of the brand name products and, in some cases, the lack of availability of the branded versions (some older medicines no longer even have a branded version). Today, she is on ALL generics, and she takes quite a few meds. She's doing perfectly fine and spending a fraction of what she was spending previously.

[Nutria]

Do you really believe that big pharma companies (Merck, Lilly, Pfizer, etc.) are not focused on cutting costs and maximizing profits?

I find it so amusing that people in one thread you've got someone saying how Big Business are such Good Guys, using high quality stuff, yet in another thread ("Question about bank to bank transfers in the USA") how Big Business is trying to screw us.

[sv2007]

Do you really believe that big pharma companies (Merck, Lilly, Pfizer, etc.) are not focused on cutting costs and maximizing profits?

I didn't say that.

I said the business model: research new drugs to make money. vs making things at the cheapest price possible. When not being able to make things at the cheapest price will kill you, you tend to spend extra efforts at it and sometimes thing break when cut too close.