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Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD
That isn't completely accurate. I am a pharmacist. A brand and a generic are yes the same identical chemical compound that is what a generic is, but both the brand and the generic are allowed a variance between batches of a certain percentage when it comes to bioavalability and other tests. So there is variation within the brand and between the brand and the generic but no greater for either so essentially the same. Although I listen all day how they don't work and have to not flip out.
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I understand that but effectively the drugs have the same effect more or less. The differences in manufacturers and even between batches can be slight different but it is highly regulated. That's why there were runs on certain brands of products and the FDA pull generic approvals for certain drugs. Generic drug pricing is almost like the stock market, there are daily variations in pricing and some even hourly.
The generic drug system is getting better though. "Equivalent" generics are being evaluated more finely as we go along.