Eli5: what is the difference between a generic drug to the original drug, and why do some doctors will swear by the original drug?

Question

Eli5: what is the difference between a generic drug to the original drug, and why do some doctors will swear by the original drug?

In: 1046

Answer 1

This is a very “no public healthcare” problem – in most countries ALL drugs are generic. As in I pick up my prescription every couple of months in the UK and it’s nearly ALWAYS a different brand of exactly the same drug because anyone is allowed to make it.

In America, big drug companies try to make it hard for someone else to make their product so they can justify charging you an arm and a leg for it.

There is **ZERO DIFFERENCE** between the “original” (which is not actually an original in any way) and the generic (non-branded) form. The reason some doctors might try and convince you otherwise is that the big pharmaceutical companies want you to doubt generic medicine because it threatens their profit margins – so they’ll try and influence doctors to discourage the use of generics. Don’t fall for it.