Generic Drugs

The FDA ensures that generic drugs are as safe and effective as their brand name counterparts. That means your employees can realize significant savings on medications, without sacrificing quality and safety.

What is a generic drug?

Generic drugs are the un-branded form of a prescription medication. They use the same active ingredients as brand name drugs and work the same way. The FDA puts all generic drugs through a rigorous, multi-step process to ensure that they are the therapeutic equivalent of their brand name counterparts. That means that a generic drug can be substituted for a brand name drug, and it will produce the same clinical effect while meeting the same safety profile as the brand name drug¹.

Why do generic drugs cost less?

Generic drugs cost less because their manufacturers don’t have to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to complete the research and development that was necessary to develop the original drug. The brand name drug manufacturer makes that investment, along with the millions of dollars needed to market and advertise the new drug. Therefore, it costs the generic manufacturer less to develop the same drug—and those savings are passed on to consumers².

¹,² fda.gov