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What are the benefits and drawbacks to taking fiasteride for an enlarged prostate?Finasteride oral tablet is available as the brand-name drugs Proscar and Propecia. It’s also available as a generic drug. Generic drugs usually cost less than the brand-name version. In some cases, they may not be available in every strength or form as the brand name drug.The more common side effects that can occur with finasteride include:decreased sex drivetrouble getting or keeping an erectionejaculation disorderincrease in breast size and tendernessskin rashIf these effects are mild, they may disappear within a few days or a couple of weeks. If they’re more severe or don’t disappear, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.Source[1]:What Does the Prostate Gland Do? - Click Here to ReadFootnotes[1] Finasteride: Side Effects, Dosage, Uses, and More

What are brand name medications?A brand name medication is the first of its kind and gets to “brand the name”. For example, there are many sources of acetaminophen, but only one Tylenol™. So, how does a medication become the first?Being first takes lots of time and money. The drug is discovered, researched, tested, developed, produced and marketed. These steps start in a laboratory, proceed to a clinical testing facility, and then go on to an FDA (Food and Drug Administration) office for approval before ever reaching a pharmacy shelf."The pharmaceutical company ensures that the drug is safe and effective by conducting aseries oflaboratory studies thattake years to perform"The pharmaceutical company ensures that the drug is safe and effective by conducting a series of laboratory studies that take years to perform. The proper dosage and form are determined by another series of lab studies. Then studies are performed at approved clinical research facilities across the country where the drug is administered to real pets belonging to real people according to strict protocols. These facilities may be veterinary school hospitals or private veterinary clinics.The FDA scrutinizes the laboratory and clinical trial findings, assesses the manufacturing processes, and verifies the drug’s purity, stability, and strength before approving the medication. Once the drug is granted FDA approval, the company can give the medication a “brand name” and market it to veterinarians. The “brand” is protected by a patent so other drug manufacturers cannot copy the formula and duplicate the drug.Why are brand name drugs patent protected?The price of bringing a new drug to market is enormous. It may cost hundreds of millions of dollars spent over 10 or more years to develop and market a novel medication. Scores of people work countless hours to provide the human and veterinary communities with new medicines. The patent allows the innovating company a period to exclusively sell the medicine so that they can recoup the dollars invested during drug development and generate a reasonable profit. During this time, other pharmaceutical companies are not permitted to make or sell the drug without permission from the developing company.Like any business, drug companies need to generate a profit to survive. Pharmaceutical companies re-invest some of their profits to develop other needed medications. Without forward-thinking scientists working for successful pharmaceutical companies, we would not have new drugs to treat and prevent illnesses in animals or in humans.What are the differences between generic and brand name drugs?When the patent expires, other pharmaceutical companies may apply to the FDA for permission to manufacture and sell a generic version of the original compound. The generic drug manufacturer must prove that their product contains the same active ingredient(s) as the brand name product. They must ensure that their generic drug maintains the same form (liquid, pill, capsule, injectable, topical), concentration, and dosage as the original medication."They must ensure that their generic drug maintains the same form…concentration, anddosage as the original medication."The FDA also requires that the generic version be as pure and stable as the original drug. The generic drug must follow the same distribution patterns and be metabolized and eliminated from the body like the brand name drug. Basically, the FDA ensures that a generic drug contains the same active ingredient in the same amount, and does the same job as the brand name product before it can be used as a substitute."generics may include different inactive ingredients such as preservatives or fillers."But there may be differences between brand name and generic drugs. Although the active ingredient must be the same as the original drug, generics may include different inactive ingredients such as preservatives or fillers. Trademark laws prevent generic drugs from looking just like the brand name drug, so the color and size may be different.Why are generic drugs cheaper than brand name drugs?Manufacturers of generic drugs do not have to repeat the years of costly laboratory and clinical trials that the developing company invested in to gain FDA approval. Generic manufacturers simply “borrow their neighbor’s homework” and don’t have to spend the time or money to do their own.Since they can produce the medication at a much lower cost, it stands to reason that they can sell it at a lower cost and still make a profit. When several companies begin to manufacture the same generic medication, competition further keeps the price down. That’s why nearly 8 of 10 prescriptions in the United States are filled with generics.Source: internet

By definition, generic medicines should be equivalent to the innovator product in terms of dosage form, strength, route of administration, quality, safety, performance characteristics, and intended use.Generic medicines are chemically identical to their branded counterparts, but, they appear different in size, shape and color, in compliance with law.Marketing approvals for innovator drugs are usually granted by regulators after usually checking effectiveness and safety in patients. Whereas, marketing approvals for generic medications are usually granted by regulators on the basis of few bio-equivalence studies involving healthy people.Do generic medicines show equivalent clinical results as their innovators?Till date only few research studies have been published in this regard. The results have not shown huge differences but no generalizations can be made in this regard and more research is needed.