Generic Medications Offer Brand Name Strength with Lower Costs

As chairman of Cambridge Therapeutics in Teaneck, New Jersey, John Klein oversees the development of innovative drug delivery systems and combination therapy medications. John Klein’s 30 years of pharmaceutical experience include service in an executive capacity with multiple firms, as well as his work chairing the Worldwide Generics Pharmaceutical Industry Association. 

Generic medications are created according to the same formulations as Food and Drug Administration-approved branded drugs. Their level of effectiveness, safety, and quality, and the way they address illness within the human body are identical as well. Generic medications must undergo lengthy testing and FDA approval before released to the market.

In fact, an entire arm of the regulatory body – the FDA Generic Drugs Program – is designed to subject new generics to the same stringent controls that are applied to brand-name medications. Generics offer the advantage of often being far less expensive than their brand-name counterparts because they are not advertised and are packaged in nondescript containers. 

As each new drug enters the market, it receives a brand name and a generic name. The originating company markets the medication under its brand name. After that company’s patent expires, other firms may manufacture it under the generic name.