GPhA RESPONDS TO "MISLEADING" TV INFORMATION ON GENERIC DRUGS

The public has been misledabout the safety andequivalence of generic medicinesby a number of ?misstatements?broadcast recentlyon NBC TV?s early-morning Today Show, officials atthe Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA) charged.GPhA released a statement correcting a number of the televisederrors, stressing that ?all consumers should knowthat?generic medicines must contain the identical amountof active ingredient as the brand? product.

In an effort to ?set the record straight,? the associationstressed that ?the [FDA] has repeatedly and officially statedthat generic, or therapeutically equivalent, drugs can be substitutedwith the full expectation by the patient and the doctorthat they will have the same clinical effect and safetyprofile as the innovator drug.?

GPhA encouraged patients with questions to ?get thecomplete facts about generics by asking their doctors andpharmacists and by visiting the FDA?s Web site? or the association?sown Web site, www.GPhA.org.