Comments on: By the Numbers: Generic vs Brand Name Drugs

By: Ling

Ling — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:13:37 +0000

wow, i just stumbled upon yr blog today and having a good read – thanks for all the info – not only is yr writing interesting and good, but ur also ethical.
(i usually have doctor-phobia you see lol)

By: Ami

Ami — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 00:11:25 +0000

My mother in law is like this, at least with over the counter drugs. She honestly believes the name brands will work better. She also believes in aromatherapy and herbs.

I bet you could say that branding might actually have a placebo effect.

Still, I would think that the pharms would figure out that once the patent ran out, they might make more money if they made the price more competitive with the generics. Ideally, they’ve run the numbers, but I’ve seen similar non-pharm R&D situations where the price was the whim of the president of the company.

By: Dr. Benabio

Dr. Benabio — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 22:53:57 +0000

I think in part because R&D is expensive and in part because they can.

I also think it is interesting that many patients actually ask for the name brand.

By: Ami

Ami — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:59:13 +0000

Usually, the patient is given the option to change to a generic brand even if the name brand has been written.

But this begs the question: why do the big R&D companies continue to charge so much?