What are the actual differences between name brand and generic/store brand medicines?
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[https://www.huffpost.com/entry/generic-prescriptions_n_6730194](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/generic-prescriptions_n_6730194)
**Q: Do generics have to have the same recipe, effect, side effects?** A: “The generics have to have the number of milligrams of drug that is included on the label in the pills. You can take it to the bank that that does not vary. In addition, the pill needs to get you within 10 percent above or below the blood concentrations achieved with the brand for the FDA to approve the generic, and in reality, they only usually vary by 3-4 percent in one direction or another. So yes, they are very similar in terms of the active ingredient. It is possible that one generic will get you a 3 percent lower concentration than the brand and another can get you a concentration that is 3 percent above the brand and therefore the two generics can be 6% different from each other. Most people will never notice a difference.
“According to the FDA, generic drugs do not need to contain the same inactive ingredients as the brand name product. Inactive ingredients are those that have nothing to do with the therapeutic action of the drug; binding materials, dyes, preservatives, and flavoring agents. That’s why sometimes a pill you have been taking will suddenly look different. It usually means a different manufacturer has made that pill than the one you had before. Also, given individual variations, a person can have an allergic reaction to an inactive ingredient in one generic and not another.”
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