INTRODUCTION

A generic drug is a copy of a brand name drug whose patent has expired. The original manufacturer of a drug receives a patent on the drug and is the only manufacturer who can produce and sell the drug during this patent period. Once the patent expires, other manufacturers may produce and sell the drug. These manufacturers usually sell the drug under its common or generic name.Most drugs have three names:

·          a chemical name

 ·          a generic name

·          a brand name

Since chemical names are usually long and complicated, the drugs are given a standard, shorter generic name. Manufacturers will usually give drugs brand names to identify that manufacturers version of the product.   

 Generic Drug is defined as a substitute or a bioequivalent of a branded medicine with respect to pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. A medicine can only be termed as generic if it is made up of the same chemical composition at same strength and it has to meet the same pharmacopoeial standard of preparation. Generic Drugs are consumed in similar dosage pattern, strength, safety precautions as its innovator brand. Actually, generic drugs are only cheaper because the manufacturers have not had the expenses of developing and marketing a new drug. When a company brings a new drug onto the market, the firm has already spent substantial money on research, development, marketing and promotion of the drug. A patent is granted that gives the company that developed the drug an exclusive right to sell the drug as long as the patent is in effect. Sometimes, generic versions of a drug have different colors, flavors, or combinations of inactive ingredients than the original medications. Trademark laws in the United States do not allow the generic drugs to look exactly like the brand-name preparation, but the active ingredients must be the same in both preparations, ensuring that both have the same medicinal effects. 

 Generic Drugs Can Be- A generic drug is a pharmaceutical product, usually intended to be interchangeable with an innovator product, that is manufactured without a licence from the innovator company and marketed after the expiry date of the patent or other exclusive rights.Generic drugs are marketed under a non-proprietary or approved name rather than a proprietary or brand name. Generic drugs are frequently as effective as, but much cheaper than, brand-name drugs.

A brand name is a name given to a drug by the manufacturer. The use of the name is reserved exclusively for its owner.

Ethical drug:   A drug that is available only with written instructions from a doctor or dentist to a pharmacist.      

                                
Synonyms: prescription drug, prescription, prescription medicine