Generic ARV in the US?

[Guest guest]

I think we need to start making this available here in the United States, particularly for people, for example, on ADAP waiting lists. The reason they are on the list at all (and many others who are denied access in this country) is because of the obscenity of pricing by big pharma. Something I call a form of economic genocide. M. **http://eatg.org/eatg/Global-HIV-News/Access-to-treatment/Why-generic-drugs-are-cheaper-and-just-as-safe 29/06/2009Why generic drugs are cheaper and just as safeBetween 2005 and 2010 brand name drugs which currently have a market share of around $100 million will lose their patent protection.Brand name drugs still have a large share of the $130 billion prescription drug market in the U.S. The big drug companies do spend billions of dollars developing, testing and marketing new drugs. Their objective is no mystery. It is to provide a good return to their shareholders on their investment in the company stock. Brand name drugs are expensive, sometimes they are very expensive. But the large pharmaceutical companies do know that they need to plow money back into research and development for future productsBetween 2005 and 2010 brand name drugs which currently have a market share of around $100 million will lose their patent protection.A patent grants a company the exclusive right to sell a new product that it has invented. Companies can also hold patents on new ways to produce already-existing goods. Patents are temporary. Once a patent on any drug expires, any company can manufacture and sell that drug with the following caveats. The manufacturer of the now generic drug must prove to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the their version of the drug meets these specific criteria:    * The generic must contain the same active ingredients as the brand name drug    * The generic drug must be available in the same dosages    * The generic drug must be administered in the same way as the brand name drug    * The generic drug must prove it is of equal purity and quality    * The generic drug can prove it enters the bloodstream as quickly as the brand name drug and results in similar blood levels of the drug in the patients systemThe FDA also requires that the generic version of the brand name drug must look different from the brand name drug. To do this, manufacturers of generics will use different inactive ingredients and make the generic a different size, shape or color than the brand name.Generally generic drugs will cost less than brand name. How much less will depend on a number of factors. The FDA will usually grant the first generic equivalent of a brand name drug which has come off patent, a 6 month market exclusive. This means that no other manufacturer, whether it is a generic manufacturer or the original manufacturer of the brand name, can sell another generic equivalent during that time. During that 6 month period, the cost of this first generic will be almost the same price as the original brand name usually selling for about 90% of the cost of the brand name.After that first 6 month period is over, the market will generally flood with generic equivalents from many other companies.This is the time that prices will drop dramatically. The more generics of a specific brand that are brought to market, then lower the cost will be.Why can generic manufacturers produce the same medications and sell them for as much as one-fifth of the price of the original. Mostly it has to do with the cost of research and development. One of the most expensive parts of developing a new drug is the extensive field trials that are required to prove a drug's effectiveness and safety.Public resentment over the cost of brand name drugs has become in important issue in the discussion of health care reform. The need for quality generics, especially for patients who take multiple medications, is obvious. Consumers can take advantage of the lower co-pays for generics and even those without a prescription drug plan can find generic drugs available at chain pharmacies, super market pharmacies, mail order houses and even on line.Some of the large drug companies do produce generic equivalents but there are also many companies who only manufacture generic drugs. Lately some of the larger producers of generic drugs have begun to invest in their own research and development departments.At the same time consumers are being urged to use generic drugs whenever possible, drug companies are relying more on direct to consumer advertising. The television and print ads have come under attack from consumer groups. There is research that supports the idea that these ads do create in the consumer a notion that brand name drugs are preferable to generics.The is rarely the case.In the new economic climate, generics do seem to be winning the public relations battle.By Sheila GuillotonExaminer.comhttp://www.examiner.com/x-11804-Health-Care-Examiner~y2009m6d27-Why-generic-drugs-are-cheaper-and-just-as-safe