oral suspension Zith brand v. generic

[Suzanne]

Went to pick up daughter's Zith today.  And to show the pharm some 'love' LOL.  I guess nobody posting here has to mix up oral suspension Zith, but since my daughter is too young for pills, I mix the bottles myself (it only keeps 10 days after it is mixed and we get a month at a time).  It looks so easy when they do it, but I've been shaking and shaking and shaking all this time, and couldn't figure out why it was so hard to get it all mixed when I did it.

Last time, I asked him if there was a trick to it.   He said yes, turn the bottle upside down as fast as you can after you add the water and it won't cake up.  Tried it and WOW!  He has changed my life LOL.  So I was happy to share that happy news with him and thank him.

But then he had bad news.  They only had a partial fill, because they are out of branded Zith and he was going to call me.  He said it was backordered from the manufacturer, so none of their locations had it.  They have plenty of generic.

I said we had tried the generic at first, but my daughter couldn't keep it down.  He said the same manufacturer is making the brand and the generic they use now.

Do you think that means they are exactly the same, I wonder?  I said if they didn't get the brand in by the time we needed it, I would try the generic again.   It would save me some money, and if it is the same manufacturer…..

So I asked why, if it was the same  manufacturer, they would run out of brand and have generic left?

He said sometimes when sales are down, they produce less of a drug to make it look like a shortage, then that increases the demand. 

That's not nice, is it?

Mom of teen daughter with Poly JIA since age 2. Current med: azithromycin 250 mg MWF.

[Maz]

[user=18]Suzanne[/user] wrote:

Do you think that means they are exactly the same, I wonder?  I said if they didn't get the brand in by the time we needed it, I would try the generic again.   It would save me some money, and if it is the same manufacturer…..

 

Hi Suzanne,

That's a really good question and one I've also wondered about. If brand and generic were “exactly” the same and made by the same manufacturer, then why the price difference? Why not just call the generic “brand.” This makes no sense. Something has got to give in the manufacturing process to allow for the lower price and I suspect the quality control of the generic may not be as stringent as with the brand. My suspicions were confirmed by my Dad, a veterinary surgeon (now retired), who worked for Eli Lilly Drug Co, up in Canada during the 60s and early 70s on the animal drug administration side. He said there was a distinct difference between amy brand and generic made by Lilly and it was mostly in the quality control. In brands, they count methodicially every tiny granule and this is checked and rechecked by the quality controllers…and the same degree of precision is not met with the generics.

Others may have some good insight for you….and this was many years ago. Things may well have changed now, especially as production line automation has improved.

Peace, Maz  

 

[Suzanne]

The 'production line' part is what has me confused.  A different manufacturer could cut costs by doing things differently.  But my knowledge of 'production' is that changing how you do something adds cost.

 

Mom of teen daughter with Poly JIA since age 2. Current med: azithromycin 250 mg MWF.

[Suzanne]

Went back today to try get the rest of the rx.  They still did not have the complete month supply, but she said the order did go through to the manufacturer so she thought they would have it all by the time we needed it.  I got one more bottle, and they owe me two more.

I asked what they thought about the generic, since the same manufacturer was making it.  She said, “I don't know what he told you….”, meaning the other pharmacist, and said it like she wished he hadn't told me anything…

I said if the generic they have is exactly the same as the brand now, I'd love to switch and save money.  I said I knew Pfizer wouldn't tell me, but maybe I could find out ingredients from the manufacturer.  They said it was Greenstone.

A goodsearch of Greenstone gives me a lot of FDA recalls, lawsuits, and WSJ articles.

I KNOW most private label/store brand/generic food and clothing is EXACTLY the same as the brand.  Keeps your manufacturing up and running.  Sold to the stores for less because you aren't paying the license for the brand.  Think what you pay for a crappy t-shirt vs. an NFL licensed crappy t-shirt.  Same principle.

If it is the same manufacturer……

Mom of teen daughter with Poly JIA since age 2. Current med: azithromycin 250 mg MWF.

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