What exactly is a generic medicine?
A generic medicine contains the same active medicinal substance as an originator pharmaceutical product. Because it acts in the same way in the human body, it is interchangeable with the originator product. Generic medicines are launched when the originator product’s patent has expired. In the EU a generic medicine is identified either by a company name plus its International Nonproprietary Name (INN), or by its own invented brand name. Generic medicines are increasingly used by general practitioners, specialists, and hospitals as equally effective alternatives to higher-priced originator pharmaceuticals.
