Abstract

COMPARATIVE (BRANDED VS. GENERIC) IN-VITRO EVALUATION OF CLOPIDOGREL BISULPHATE TABLETS 75 MG: CLOPIVAS, DEPLATT AND CLOPICARD

Ankita Jayprakash Parit* and Swarupa Dinkar Shirtode

ABSTRACT

A generic drug is a chemically equivalent, lower cost version of brand name drug, costing 30-80 % less than branded formulations. A brand name drug and its generic version must have the same active ingredient, dosage, safety, strength, usage direction, quality performance and intended use. When a doctor is writing a prescription, or a consumer is buying an over-the-counter (OTC) medicine, they may have a choice between a branded medicine and the generic version of that medicine. Generic medicines are sometimes cheaper than brand-name medicines, but the active ingredient is the same in both. Medicines also contain inactive ingredients, which are used to formulate the active ingredient into a tablet, liquid, cream or other preparation. The ingredients other than API are excipients and differentmanufacturers do not always use the same ones when formulating their product. This is why medicines containing the same active ingredient, but made by different manufacturers, may vary in appearance. The excipients used may create small differences between them, such as in color, or the amount of time it takes for a tablet to dissolve in the gut and be absorbed into the bloodstream. However, these differences are rarely significant, which is why generic and branded medicines are (with a few exceptions) interchangeable. The availability and utilization of generic alternatives to brand-name drugs has had a significant effect on cost savings for health care consumers. On average, generic medications are 87% less expensive than their branded counterparts.[1]

Keywords: .