What are generic drugs?
A generic drug is one which contains the same active substance in the same dose and pharmaceutical form, and is administered in the same way and with the same therapeutic dosage as the reference drug in Brazil. A generic can also be taken with the same degree of safety as the reference drug in this country and can be totally interchangeable with the latter. The Ministry of Health, through ANVISA, tests for bioequivalence between the generic version and its reference drug when the product is submitted by the manufacturers for quality testing.
Medcore Gold and Medcore Gold Select cover both brand-name drugs and generic drugs. A generic drug has the same active-ingredient formula as the brand name drug. Generic drugs usually cost less than brand name drugs and are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Ask your physician if you are taking a brand name drug and want to know if there is a generic version, or contact our Customer Service Department at 1-800-320-5688, Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm (TTY/TDD Users should call 1-800-258-6810). For questions related to the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug program, Member Services representatives are available to respond to your prescription drug questions 8am to 8pm, seven days a week by calling 1-800-320-5688.
A generic drug is a copy of the brand-name drug with the same dosage, safety, strength, quality, how it is taken, performance, and intended use. Before generics become available on the market, the generic company must prove it has the same active ingredients as the brand-name and works the same way in the body in the same amount of time. The only differences between generics and their brand-name counterparts is that generics are less expensive and may look slightly different (eg. different shape or color), as trademarks laws prevent a generic from looking exactly like the brand-name drug. Generics are less expensive because generic manufacturers don’t have to invest large sums of money to invent a drug. When the brand-name patent expires, generic companies can manufacture a copy of the brand-name and sell it at substantial discounts.
Generic drug is used to mean copies of patented drugs (not patented in that particular country) or drugs whose patents have expired. When copies of patent drugs are made by other manufactures, they are either sold under the name of the chemical ingredient (making them clearly generic), or under another brandname. If a pharmaceutical is patented in a country and is illegally copied (infringing patent protection) in that country, it is not generic. Similarly, parallel imports are also not generics. There is a key role for generics in promoting competition and reducing the price of drugs particularly in countries deeply affected by HIV/AIDS and other health emergencies.
