For many drugs, the generic versions are just as effective as the name brands. But this isn't always the case. For example, lithium carbonate is a drug used most commonly to treat manic disorders. Lithium is an NTI drug, meaning it has a narrow therapeutic index. Theses types of drugs have a smaller margin of error in the dosing, which means very small changes in the dosage can cause very toxic effects. The blood concentrations needed to achieve a therapeutic dose and the concentration that will cause harm are very similar. Because of this, consumers who switch from name brand NTI drugs to generic versions may experience dangerous side effects.
Lithium Carbonate is the generic drug for Lithoboid. Both of these drugs have the same active ingredient - lithium carbonate - but their inactive ingredients differ greatly. In fact, Lithium carbonate contains five additional inactive ingredients which are not present in the name brand. An increase in inactive ingredients is also in increase in the number of allergic reactions possible for a patient to have. When drug manufacturers synthesize drugs, and when the FDA investigates those drugs, they base it off of the average person. But when the inactive ingredients and the process of synthesis are different, then no one can be certain that everyone will respond the same. Although the FDA has much stricter guidelines for the synthesis of generic NTI drugs, there may still be dangerous effects due to their low tolerance to change.
Even though these dangers may exist, its important to remember why consumers will more than likely choose the generic brand: the cost of the medication. At Walgreens, Lithium carbonate is only about $0.26 per pill, while Lithoboid costs about $0.55 per pill. This is a large price difference for many consumers, especially in the long run. So even if there may be a slight risk with taking the generic brand, many consumers will gladly take that risk.
I have hypothyroidism and my doctor insists that I take medication for it under the brand name Synthroid. This is because the generic version is not regulated as closely and each generic pill can vary in dosage, causing my thyroid levels to fluctuate as well. While this is not necessarily toxic, as the lithium carbonate you wrote about, I can relate to it on some level. It's easy to look at the active ingredient and think they are the same, and then choose the much cheaper option, but there are other things that need to be considered. Although there are undoubtably drugs that are virtually identical in everything but brand name and price, I feel that, especially in conversations we've had in class, this gets overlooked, so I thank you for posting about it!
ReplyDelete