Study questioning the generic values as not being effective as the name brand...BD
For seven years Linda Douglas has been treating her depression with the antidepressant Wellbutrin, first with a twice-a-day version and then later with a more convenient once-a-day pill called Wellbutrin XL. The drug, she says, "renewed my joy for living." All that changed earlier this year when she switched to a generic version of Wellbutrin XL 300 milligrams to save money. Instead of paying $250 for a three-month supply of the brand drug, she was paying just $53. The cost savings were welcome, but Douglas, 48, a telecommunications project manager in Columbia, Md., says the depression returned during the six months she took the generic antidepressant.
The FDA does not require generic drugmakers seeking approval to do clinical trials of their drugs on hundreds or thousands of people as is required for brand drugs. Instead, the agency requires lab data and "bioequivalence" testing in about 24 to 36 healthy volunteers showing that the drug appears in the bloodstream in a similar manner to the brand, says Walsh.
If the active ingredient is released more quickly into a patient's bloodstream, that could mean there is less medication available to the patient later, which may explain why people like Douglas experienced a return of their depression, Cooperman says
Report questions generic antidepressant - Health Care - MSNBC.com
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