What exactly are generic drugs?

Generic drugs are successor drugs that are essentially the same as the corresponding original preparations. They contain the same active ingredients in the same quantity and dosage form, but may differ in terms of excipients and appearance. Generic drugs are much cheaper because they do not involve the enormous costs associated with drug development. With a few exceptions, it is usually possible to switch from an original drug to a generic drug without any problems.

Newly introduced drugs are usually protected by patent law. Other companies are not allowed to copy these drugs and distribute them themselves without the manufacturer's consent. However, this protection expires after a few years. In Switzerland, the statutory patent protection period is generally 20 years.

The development costs for a new drug are currently estimated at well over one billion Swiss francs. A generic drug can be offered at a significantly lower price than the original drug because this enormous financial expense is eliminated.

This article was researched and compiled by the PharmaWiki team. It was made possible thanks to the support of Sandoz Pharmaceuticals AG. Source: https://www.pharmawiki.ch/wiki/index.php?wiki=Generika (accessed on 07/27/21)