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Paige Hutton
Professor Meenan
ENG123-B
25 April 2019
The Controversy Between Generic Drugs and Brand-Name Drugs
Walking down any medication aisle of a store, it is commonly noted that there is such a
plentiful array of drugs available to the public. Most of these drugs are labeled with strangely
long and confusing names, so which ones are the right drugs to take? This problem is associated
with generic drugs, which must often go by their incomprehensible chemical names, and brand.
names going by much simpler labels. While this issue does indeed paint generic drugs in a
negative connotation, there is evidence to suggest that the benefits of taking these said drugs
outweigh those of brand-name drugs. Generic drugs being prescribed to patients is most
beneficial to the individual's overall health because as opposed to brand-name drugs, they tend to
have the same efficiency with higher adherence rates but lower costs.
One of the discrepancies at the core of the controversy of generic drugs versus brand-
name drugs is the variable of comparative efficiencies. Generic drugs are often viewed in a
negative light since their names are unnecessarily longer than the commonly seen brand-name
drugs, which often confuses patients. As if this was not complicated enough, one of the key
reasons as to why generics are not viewed in the same caliber as brand-names is due to their
ingredients, which often vary. While right off the bat it may seem that the only difference
between a generic drug and the brand-name drug is their names, the chemical components within
each drug are widely contrasted as well. For example, since generic drugs are not entirely held to
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the same standard as brand-names are, generics are able to throw in additive ingredients for
coatings or fillers and get away with it as long as it is deemed safe. This type of loophole that
pharmaceutical companies have found is also why generics are available to customers at much
lower prices than the purer forms found in brands. Not only are these modified versions with
alternative ingredients a tad bit misleading, but they may also cause allergic reactions in
unknowing patients, as mentioned by registered nurse, Tanya Turk. Similar to how nutrition in
the United States was dramatically improved by the FDA's implementation of the 1990 Nutrition
Labeling and Education Act in the 1990s, the quality of drugs on the market would be much
greater because patients would be able to read what exactly is in the medications they are
consuming. By following this, consumers would also feel a bit more at ease and not as confused
about what they are being prescribed because the labels would be clearer and more
straightforward. If pharmaceutical companies were to merely halve the amount of assorted extra
ingredients and be sure to label their additives, patients would have a much better experience
with generics while still maintaining a lower cost than most brand-names.
In 2015, a study was conducted to compare the effectiveness between