Do generic drugs differ from brand name drugs?

You may have heard that switching to a generic medicine will save money and now may be wondering if there is any difference between brand name drugs and their generic versions. Here is a detailed comparative analysis of the two.
As the U.S. Food and Drug administration (FDA) has put it, to gain FDA approval, a generic drug must: contain the same active ingredients as the original medication (inactive ingredients may differ), be identical in potency, dosage form and route of administration; meet the same batch requirements for identity, potency, purity and quality; be produced under the same rigid standards of FDA's good producing practice regulations required for original medications. To put it differently, their pharmacological effects are identical to those of their brand name counterparts.
A lot of people express doubts about the efficacy of generic medications, as the latter are frequently much cheaper than brand name versions. They wonder if the quality and potency have been ignored to make less expensive products. The FDA requires that generic medications should be as secure and potent as brand name drugs.
Actually, generic medications are lees expensive, since the producers do not need to spend money on manufacturing and marketing of a new medication. When a company introduces a new drug to the market, the business has already spent a considerable amount of money on research, development, marketing and promotion of the drug. The producer that manufactures the drug is given a patent - an exclusive right to sell the drug as long as the patent is in force. As the expiration date of the patent nears, producers can apply to the FDA for permission to make and sell generic versions of the medication. Without the startup costs for manufacturing of the medication, producers can afford to manufacture and sell it cheaper. Because of the competition on the market the price can also go down.
Since the standards for all drug manufacturing facilities are the same, many firms make both brand name and generic medications. In fact, half of generic medication production is estimated to be made by brand name firms.
At times, generic versions of a drug have different colours, flavors, or combinations of inactive ingredients in comparison with branded drugs. Trademark laws in the United States do not allow generic medications to look exactly like brand name medications. Still, active ingredients in both preparations must be identical, securing that both have the same medicinal properties.