- Joined
- Jul 23, 2012
- Messages
- 2,781
- Reaction score
- 2,489
I'm currently a medical student with a huge amount of interest in psychopharmacology. I've been debating brand versus generic medications with fellow students. Generally, people are inclined to say that there is no difference between brand and generic medications. Yes, generics must have the same amount of active ingredient, but the fillers can be different.
Based on patient experiences and what I've come across on internet message board, I see that patients can have extremely varying experiences with psychiatric generic versus brand medications.
This is especially prevalent among Bupropion XL users. Apparently the time release mechanisms differ among the drugs despite having the same amount of active ingredient. There are an insane amount of complaints you can read from a lot of people. When these patients who have severe issues with generics switch to brand Wellbutrin XL (Bupropion HCl) or Aplenzin (Bupropion HBr), it becomes like a night and day difference. The huge number of complaints, as well as Teva's former generic, Budeprion, getting pulled off the market shows that this is definitely not placebo.
Looking at ADHD message boards, it looks like patients (not abusers) have differing experiences with popular drugs, like amphetamines and methylphenidate. For example, in the case of instant release Focalin (dexmethylphenidate), there are many complaints about Teva's generic causing bad side effects. Patients prefer the Novartis brand medication and claim that Teva's technically gives Focalin a "bad name."
With these things in mind, what are your opinions as pharmacy students and hopefully current PharmDs? I couldn't think of a better place to ask this question.
Based on patient experiences and what I've come across on internet message board, I see that patients can have extremely varying experiences with psychiatric generic versus brand medications.
This is especially prevalent among Bupropion XL users. Apparently the time release mechanisms differ among the drugs despite having the same amount of active ingredient. There are an insane amount of complaints you can read from a lot of people. When these patients who have severe issues with generics switch to brand Wellbutrin XL (Bupropion HCl) or Aplenzin (Bupropion HBr), it becomes like a night and day difference. The huge number of complaints, as well as Teva's former generic, Budeprion, getting pulled off the market shows that this is definitely not placebo.
Looking at ADHD message boards, it looks like patients (not abusers) have differing experiences with popular drugs, like amphetamines and methylphenidate. For example, in the case of instant release Focalin (dexmethylphenidate), there are many complaints about Teva's generic causing bad side effects. Patients prefer the Novartis brand medication and claim that Teva's technically gives Focalin a "bad name."
With these things in mind, what are your opinions as pharmacy students and hopefully current PharmDs? I couldn't think of a better place to ask this question.