GENERIC VERSUS BRANDED MEDICATION

I am talking about medicine's (drugs) and there pricing policy, and especially the recent coined term GENERIC MEDICINE.
Firstly let us understand what generic medicine pertains to- Generic drugs are copies of brand name drugs that have exactly the same dosage indented use, effects, side effects, route of administration, risks, safety and strength as original drug. There pharmacological effects are exactly the same as those of the brand name counterparts, here comes a new term brand name drug..!!
Now, again a question comes what does this means and if there are two types of drugs one generic and other some branded one then which one is better well before jumping into other question let us first know what a brand drug actually is..
When a new drug or we say formula is discovered, researched, tested, developed, produced and marketed for the very first time it is called brand drug, as being first needs time and money so is it, it takes years and year's in making which finally come on our finger tip, starts in a laboratory, proceeds to a clinical testing facility then to food and drug administration office for approval before ever reaching a pharmacy shelf..!!
The pharmaceutical company Ensures that the drug is safe and effective by conducting series of tests, that takes years to perform then drug is administered to real pets under strict protocols.
Then what is the difference between this generic drug and a brand drug..?
After years and years of research work a drug is invented, after getting approval form the FDA the drug is patented and given a brand name and then marketed till the time drug is patented no one can copy the formula, but when it ceases to expire other pharma companies may apply to FDA for permission to manufacture and sell a generic version of the original compound, the product will contain the same active ingredients as the branded one just few changes in the inactive ingredients may be permissible that is the flavors or preservatives.
The generic term may be in existence for years but for us common people the term have been raised recently when the doctor's were instructed to prescribe generic name's and that too because it was cheaper..!!
So next question comes up is why these generic medicine's are cheaper ?
As told earlier that brand drug needs patience and money as lots and lots of research work needs to be done but in case of generic drug manufacturers don't have to repeat the years of costly lab and clinical trials that developing company invested, generic manufacturer simply "borrow neighbor's homework and copy it" they don't need to spend there time and money on it. Since they can produce medication at such a low cost,it stands to be the reason that these medicine's are 30-80% cheaper then the branded one.
Now that it's cheaper is it safe to use..?
Well there is no truth in the myth that generic drugs are manufactured in poor quality facilities or are inferior in quality to brand drugs the FDA applies same standards for all drugs and many companies manufacture both branded as well as generic drugs it's just that sometime these Generic medicine have different color, flavour or combinations of inactive ingredients.
Then why doctors prescribe brand name instead of the generic ones, many answers arrive few of them are-
1. Brand names are easy to memorize.
2. No pharmacy in India has a well experienced pharmacist (the second doctors),who knows the generic name's while the brand names are easy for them.
3. And finally the most controversial one are doctors paid for prescribing these branded medicine's in place of the Generic one.
Well in case of Generic medicine few doctor's say-
The brand and assurance matters in each industry they claim that all generic drugs preparations provided to the government hospitals FAILED to comply with minimum permissible standard's.
They blame Indians of getting fooled and say we need brands in everything our shoes, watches, bikes but when it comes to medication what is preferred is the cheapest option..!!
So what do a common man do..??
Who is only provided with medical assistance capable of fulfilling the bed charge, hospital charge but his lifelong saving are drown away by mere medicine charge, should he rely on doctors who say follow branded medicine's as they are up to the mark..in quality or the government who says we have made medication free by introducing generic medicine's in the hospitals.
Think twice..!!