Medicine - same ingredients but different pricing.

[Collider]

The main reason generics are cheaper is that they don't have the underlying R&D costs and are a later stage in drug development when the mix has gone to mass production. The big pharmas will usually claim the cost of their branded products is related to the fact they invested in producing them.

Usually drugs are picked up by other manufacturers as the patents end. At that point the manufacturer keeps the brand name but the 'recipe' is up for grabs.

The drugs you see being produced to work faster are formulated differently to be faster absorbing etc and the pharmas will then get a patent on that formula. Either that or as mentioned above they are styled into different delivery mechanisms, some of which are more expensive to engineer to have a premium price.

In general terms unless they have been produced to be faster absorbing etc the degree of absorption will be the same for generics as it is for branded drugs.

 

[chameleon]

I was in Boots for some Paracetamol the other day, they had packs at 16p, 24p, 39p, 45p and a few branded ones up to about £2.00 or so. All for the same thing. 16p ones stopped my headache just fine.

 

[The Halk]

I was in Boots for some Paracetamol the other day, they had packs at 16p, 24p, 39p, 45p and a few branded ones up to about £2.00 or so. All for the same thing. 16p ones stopped my headache just fine.

It's not the same thing. There's tablets, capsules, effervescent tablets, chewable tablets etc.

 

[coupe69]

What would the generic version of Lemsip Max Sinus be?

This contains Paracetamol, Caffeine and Phenylephrine hydrochloride.

Reason I ask is because I've purchased some today after coming down with a rather nasty dose of the manflu!
The Phenylephrine stuff is supposed to be a decongestant which presumably is not in your average 40p tub of generic paracetamol?

Have I been conned?

 

[Collider]

What would the generic version of Lemsip Max Sinus be?

This contains Paracetamol, Caffeine and Phenylephrine hydrochloride.

Reason I ask is because I've purchased some today after coming down with a rather nasty dose of the manflu!
The Phenylephrine stuff is supposed to be a decongestant which presumably is not in your average 40p tub of generic paracetamol?

Have I been conned?

Any generic forumla of that will be the same in the same quantities.

Useful link here shows the equivalents, you can either check the back of the box or just go and ask the Pharmacist for the nearest generic in the form you want.

Paracetamol/Phenylephrine/Caffeine Over-the-counter medicine

(a generic version of Lemsip Max Sinus Capsules)

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Cold-common/Pages/MedicineGuidePage.aspx

 

[coupe69]

Any generic forumla of that will be the same in the same quantities.

Useful link here shows the equivalents, you can either check the back of the box or just go and ask the Pharmacist for the nearest generic in the form you want.



http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Cold-common/Pages/MedicineGuidePage.aspx

Cheers for the handy link

 

[MisChief]

I have to take antihistamine tablets almost daily and even though all allergy tablets contain the same ingredients and dosage, I find that one particular brand works faster/better for me. It also happens to be the most expensive one

 

[drunkenmaster]

The drugs you see being produced to work faster are formulated differently to be faster absorbing etc and the pharmas will then get a patent on that formula. Either that or as mentioned above they are styled into different delivery mechanisms, some of which are more expensive to engineer to have a premium price.

In general terms unless they have been produced to be faster absorbing etc the degree of absorption will be the same for generics as it is for branded drugs.

Most of them don't work faster, its just a minor change, as small as possible, to get a new patent. You get a drug, the company that invents it has a patent, I forget how long for, 10-20 years, and they can charge through the teeth for it during that time.

Then the patent is up, and everyone can make the same great drug they've been marketing as the best for donkeys years, so they take the same drug, add as small a change as possible that doesn't change the underlying action of the drug in any significant way, but with any change they can make a new patent, then they market the new version as superior to the old one and they can tell you their £3 version is better than the old version you can now get for 50p everywhere.


If some drugs work marginally faster, you're talking about differences that really just don't matter in terms of ibuprofen.

People fall for marketing all the time and think its better, drug companies would have made an absolute killing off ibuprofen while it was exclusive, and still make a killing on all the people who buy it rather than generic. They've long since recouped money spent on coming up with it and money spent on new versions is as minimal as possible.

Saying all that I have no real problem with them making loads of money, if it wasn't highly profitable they wouldn't do research into other drugs.

 

[KatanaDV20]

Ugh I would stay away from the Lemsip and all that...all kinds of chemical junk going into your system!! Thats just me though...lol

 

[coupe69]

Ugh I would stay away from the Lemsip and all that...all kinds of chemical junk going into your system!! Thats just me though...lol

Really What makes you say this? Do you have proof, or are you just surmising?

 

[Stretch]

I bought the super drug "alka seltzer" once. They taste bad

 

[Hequn]

Half the time, when a drug is 'faster acting', all they've done is add a small amount of caffeine to get it into your bloodstream quicker...taking a generic pill with coffee or another caffeinated product would have the same effect.

 

[bam0]

What would the generic version of Lemsip Max Sinus be?

This contains Paracetamol, Caffeine and Phenylephrine hydrochloride.

Reason I ask is because I've purchased some today after coming down with a rather nasty dose of the manflu!
The Phenylephrine stuff is supposed to be a decongestant which presumably is not in your average 40p tub of generic paracetamol?

Have I been conned?

Something you might be interested in; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenylephrine#Questions_about_effectiveness
Personally I've found psuedoephedrine based decongestants to be significantly better, you have to ask for them though as they are behind the counter.

 

[Mr Jack]

Research costs are a red herring, they long since made their money back on that; it's pure branding. It astounds me that people still buy Neurofen.

 

[Nexus]

Its no different to any other product sold to us where the are cheaper brands available, especially in Supermarkets.

Take Heinz Tomato Ketchup for example, its been Britain's most popular sauce for years, its the biggest seller. However a blind taste test conducted a couple of years ago found that it ranked second from bottom in terms of taste. The top winners of the taste test were all supermarket own brands.

 

[Hatter The Mad]

Research costs are a red herring, they long since made their money back on that; it's pure branding. It astounds me that people still buy Neurofen.

Because it is more effective in suggestible people (which is many).

If you're a suggestible person (ie might be prone to a placebo effect), the effect is greater the more you pay and depending on the marketing you have consumed up until that point.

Same thing where a placebo effects enhanced if someone in a white coat gives you the pill, or if it is administered inside a hospital, etc.

 

[Hatter The Mad]

Research costs are a red herring, they long since made their money back on that; it's pure branding. It astounds me that people still buy Neurofen.

If you're talking about patented and licensed drugs, that's not true. Otherwise by your implication, every drug which gets researched goes to market.

 

[Efour]

They are just another Marketing spin price point.

Sliced white bread, you can pay 40p or £1.50 - its essentially the same thing chemically just presented/cooked slightly different.

 

[Malc]

They are just another Marketing spin price point.

Sliced white bread, you can pay 40p or £1.50 - its essentially the same thing chemically just presented/cooked slightly different.

I don't think it is the same.

With drugs, if they have the same active ingredients and are the same type of delivery method, there is no reason why one is better than the other or why one is more expensive other than marketing and perception. They are essentially the exact same thing.

Food is not like that. The ingredients and the way it is made etc, all effect how the customer will enjoy the product (how it tastes, texture etc). There may be an element of brand loyalty/brand perception, but that's not the only thing at play.

If you're talking about patented and licensed drugs, that's not true. Otherwise by your implication, every drug which gets researched goes to market.

With something like Neurofen I don't think research costs come into it. I think it's expensive because people are overly cautious with their health and assume because it's advertised, the packaging is professional and striking and the capsule is a gelatin like substance containing a liquid solution (as opposed to a standard tablet) it's going to be better.

Considering Ibuprofen was out of patent about 30 years ago, the reason Neurofen is £3 a box is probably just because it's a money spinner for the company who produces it.

The way I thought drug development worked was that a drug with a specific effect is desired. Numerous drugs are developed, produced and trailled. Only one makes the cut (other drugs may be accidently discovered) and a price for the drug is determined based on the cost for development + a mark up.

 

[Greebo]

It doesn't apply to most of these situations though, as they will have a patent for x-years so no generic company can produce it.
For things like cold medicine, it has no such things and is just branding and people not actually taking an interest in the active ingriedents.

10 years I think is all you get. So for that period you cash in with high prices and establish a brand.

Once the generics come on board for pennies, you can still sell your branded product at a higher price as people will still buy them.

To be fair, they do need to do this because of the millions it costs to develop new drugs and quite a lot never make it to market so are wasted money.

Smart people buy the generics.