Since 1970, the FDA has approved almost 9,000 generic drug products as therapeutically equivalent to brand-name products. These generic drugs have been used billions of times by millions of patients, demonstrating again that brand-name and generic drugs have the same effect in the body. The FDA's standards for quality are the same for all manufacturers. About 55 percent of generic drugs in the U.S. are made by companies who manufacture brand-name drugs. The other 45 percent are produced by companies that specialize in generic drugs.
All prescription drugs have generic names, and all states encourage generic substitutions.
The generic name of a drug is its chemical or scientific name, which describes the drug's active ingredients. Brand-name labels are really only used for marketing purposes. Because of the significant savings and excellent quality that generic drugs offer, all 50 states have laws allowing your pharmacist, with your doctor's approval, to substitute equivalent generic drugs for prescriptions written using the brand name. The best source of information about prescription drugs is your pharmacist. As a health professional with many years of pharmaceutical training and experience, your pharmacist can answer any questions you may have about your medications and their proper use.