Generic Drug Names
Drug is defined, in broad and very non-specific terms as any substance that is taken into the body, through any means, intended to alter the body functions and processes. Drugs may be used as cures for certain medical conditions, or they may also be used purely for recreational purposes. In pharmacology, Dictionary.com defines a drug as "a chemical substance used in the treatment, cure, prevention, or diagnosis of disease or used to otherwise enhance physical or mental well-being." Drugs may be prescribed for a limited duration, or on a regular basis for chronic disorders.
When a drug is first discovered, it is given a chemical name according to its chemical composition and International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry rules. Since chemical names are usually very long and complicated, its not feasible for pharmacists and researchers to use those names. The complexity of chemical name makes it impractical to remember every drug name. A shorthand version of drug name is thus devised, or a code is given to the chemical name until it is presented to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and approved. FDA then decides a formal name for that drug, known as Generic Drug Name. Trade names are the names chosen by the manufacturing company and are usually easier to remember.
Government officials, researchers, doctors, and others who write about the new compounds use the drug’s generic name because it refers to the drug itself, not to a particular company’s brand of the drug or a specific product. However, doctors often use the trade name on prescriptions, because it is easier to remember and doctors usually learn about new drugs by the trade name.
Generic drug names are usually harder to remember as compared to trade names. Generic names are generally shorthand versions of the actual chemical formula of drug. It may even be just a part of the chemical name. Trade names, on the other hand, are catchy and easy to understand. They may refer to the chemical composition or the desired outcome. Trade names often suggest a characteristic of the drug. For example, the drug Lopressor lowers the blood pressure, Vivactil might make a person more vivacious or lively, Glucotrol controls high blood sugar (glucose) levels, and Skelaxin relaxes skeletal muscles. Sometimes, the trade name is simply a shortened version of the drug’s generic name—for example, Minocin for minocycline.
The term generic, is generally assumed to be a low-quality version of a trade or brand name product. This applies to major household and food items, but drugs are devoid of it. Generic drugs are just as effective as brand name drugs. In fact, generic drug makers manufacture many trade-name products for companies that control the trade names. Sometimes, more than one generic version of a drug is available. For example, many manufacturers sell versions of Acetaminophen.
The generic and brand names can thus be very different, but both can refer to the same drug of a common chemical name and/or structure.
Brand And Generic Drug Names
This is the significance of brand name. Generic names on the other hand are the shorten forms chemical names of the drugs. For instance: Acetaminophen is the generic name of Paracetamol and is the shortened form of its chemical name.
The king of generic drugs
Their names don’t matter: These generic drugs are inexpensive copies of blockbuster pills, and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, the owner of the factory and 37 others like it, is swallowing Big Pharma’s market share.
Generic Drug System
It is reported that generic drugs of this nature are priced 50 to 80 percent less at retail than their brand-name counterparts. That means a whole lot of difference especially for people who are not making so much.
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