Prescription drugs, OTC drugs and those in between

Difference between prescription-only drugs, drugs you can buy over the counter (OTC)  and all those in between (it's a blurred line).

***please note, drugs means substances that are classified as medicine by the pharmaceutical boards and sold as such, and are meant to heal or bring about relief, NOT supplements or herbs....or joints****

Prescription drugs are those drugs which you CANNOT purchase without a written doctor's recommendation, nor can you get a refill without the written recommendation.
On the other hand, OTC (over-the-counter) drugs are those which you may purchase without a written recommendation. These include pain killers, cough syrups, fever medicine and the like.

Prescription drugs are usually defined by the medical board/pharmaceutical and poisons board of a particular country. Most countries usually share the same rules when declaring prescription medicine, although what may be strictly prescription in one country, may be OTC in another eg opiate painkillers like Syndol or Betapyn.

Most of the rules that dictate the availability of a drug usually hover around the issues of drug dependency, as well as possible side effects of the drug. A good example is Cytotec (misoprostol), which should never be sold without a prescription. The drug is indicated for treatment of advanced stomach ulcers, but a side effect is labour induction, thus miscarriage. Such a drug may be life-threatening even with a single dose if used unknowingly/unwisely by an expectant lady, therefore the physician who prescribes it must be fully aware of the patient's health and reproductive status (ie, pregnancy.. or not).
Most OTC drugs pose a very small risk unless a very large dose is used at once, and its impossible to obtain such doses (unless you run a registered clinic!!). Some of these drugs pose dependency risks when used over a long while. The dependency issues are however mild and can be overcome once the drug use is discontinued. These include cough syrups with opiates eg codeine. However, most of these drugs are usually costly, so it would be hard to form a habit due to the prices.

When planning to travel abroad, always carry your supply of medicine; if you are on prescription drugs, get a refill before traveling. Otherwise, if you are on short term treatment eg allergy or use eye-drops, also be sure to purchase before traveling. This is because some of the drugs may be unavailable in emergency cases, unless you check-in to the casualty department of a local hospital, which may be costly and time-consuming.
Till next time, much love,,

This is Serenity!!

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MEDICINES - Brand leaders and Generics, what is the difference?

Originator, Generics and brand names:



Quite often we come across so many different brands of medicine, some we call 'Original brand' which is actually the Originator brand or the brand leader, and the generic, which people often confuse for counterfeit/fake brands (often because they are much cheaper).

These drugs usually differ in so many ways, including shape, colour, fillers (and taste components) as well as branding and packaging.

So what is the 'Originator brand' or a 'Brand Leader' in the pharmaceutical sense? When a pharmaceutical company discovers a certain chemical, it will seek to protect it as intellectual property through patenting. The patent usually lasts an average of 20 years, the 20 years inclusive of when the chemical was discovered all through its launch as medication for human use. Roughly, 15 out of the 20 years will be used for development and research, while the remainder of the time will be used to launch and push the drug in the market where it dominates until the patent expires. this is where the "Original" concept comes from. Thus, it is recognized as a 'Brand leader '.

Generics are therefore the chemically identical copies of the brand leader. They are NOT fake medicine. They are cheaper though, since the manufacturing company did not have to incur the development and research costs as well as marketing costs when introducing the drug to the market.

There are 3 general types of generic medicine:

Pseudo-generics (a.k.a clone medication): These are identical to the originator brand leader in all aspects, except branding and identifying components e.g colour of tablets, taste etc. Most often, they are manufactured in the same factory
as the brand leader.

Licensed generic: These share the same formula as the originator brand leader, but are manufactured by another manufacturer who has bought the formula from the brand leader, and are licensed to manufacture the drug.

True Generic: This type is manufactured by a company that has formulated its own recipe, but contains the same active ingredient as the brand leader. To qualify for government subsidy, the generic must show that it is therapeutically equivalent to the brand leader (i.e do what the originator brand leader
does to bring about relief). This means that the drug must contain between 80% to 120% of the active ingredient as contained in the brand leader, so as to provide assurance of effectiveness of the generic drug.

There are cases where a small change in the composition of the active ingredient may be harmful to the user, especially when the active ingredient is a strong/potent chemical. This is defined as ' Medically narrow therapeutic window'. It is in such a case where you find that a patient is advised not to
substitute the originator brand leader with a generic drug.

Therefore, don't be afraid of generic medicine, as long as they are licensed and approved, as your pharmacist will assure you.

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