What exactly are generic drugs?

Generic drugs are follow-on medications that are essentially the same as the corresponding brand-name drugs. They contain the same active ingredients in the same amounts and dosage forms, but may differ in terms of excipients and appearance. Generic drugs are offered at much lower prices because they eliminate the enormous costs associated with drug development. With a few exceptions, it is generally possible to switch from a brand-name drug to a generic without any problems.

Newly introduced drugs are usually protected by patents. Another company may not copy these drugs and market them itself without the manufacturer’s consent. However, this protection expires after a few years. In Switzerland, the statutory patent protection generally lasts 20 years.

The development costs for a new drug are currently estimated at well over one billion Swiss francs. A generic drug can be offered at a significantly lower price than the brand-name drug because this enormous financial investment is eliminated.

This article was researched and compiled by the PharmaWiki team. It was made possible thanks to the support of Sandoz Pharmaceuticals AG. Source: https://www.pharmawiki.ch/wiki/index.php?wiki=Generika (accessed on July 27, 2021)