Can I Trust Mexican Generics?

In a situation of economic crisis, people try to save on everything, including the purchase of medicines. But when it comes to health, it is important to save money without sacrificing quality. Generic drugs are used instead of original drugs, they replace expensive drugs with cheaper ones. A generic drug is a medicinal product that has the same qualitative and quantitative composition of active ingredients in the same dosage form as the reference drug. Moreover, its bioequivalence or therapeutic equivalence to the reference drug is confirmed by relevant studies. The generic should have the same effect on the body as the original medicine. Pharmaceutical companies gain the right to create generic drugs as soon as the patent on the original drug expires.

Since the company that makes copies of the drugs does not spend money on their development and clinical trials, most generic drugs are cheaper than the original drugs. And generics are usually produced by several different companies, to successfully compete for buyers, manufacturers have to reduce prices. 

Due to the low cost of drugs, buyers often have questions about whether generics can be trusted and how their quality is checked. In Mexico, all generics undergo thorough research and confirmation of their quality. The quality and safety requirements for generics are the same as for original drugs. Therefore, all areas of their production, packaging, and analysis must meet quality standards. A generic is considered of high quality if its therapeutic equivalence is proven.

When a new drug is created, it undergoes many preclinical and clinical studies, where not only its effectiveness but also its safety is assessed. When creating generics, clinical trials to assess efficacy and safety are not carried out, but at the same time, a high-quality generic must have pharmaceutical, biological, and therapeutic equivalence to the original drug. This is prescribed by the Mexican legislation. There should be no serious differences between the original and the copy. The state strictly monitors the quality and safety of medicines. But despite the use of the same active ingredient, the effect on the body is still sometimes different. This is due to the composition of the excipients. In generics, additional components often differ in composition and concentration. Therefore, the dynamics of the action of such a drug may be different.

Sometimes even a small difference in composition plays an important role. Let’s say the coating of a generic drug contains lactose. This means it will suit fewer people. For example, a patient with lactase deficiency will no longer be able to take such a drug. Therefore, if you are planning to abandon the original drug and want to continue treatment with generics, be careful. It’s better to consult your doctor.

Information about the quality of a generic drug is easiest to obtain from two sources: from the attending physician and from specialized reference books into which pharmaceutical companies enter data. At the same time, doctors and pharmacists of our company, know from their own experience, which manufacturers’ drugs work better and which ones work worse. They are always ready to tell you about the most effective generics at your appointment and offer the best option for you. We work only with reliable suppliers and generic manufacturers, so we are 100% confident in the high quality of their products. To check the safety of generic products:

• We ask manufacturing laboratories for an analytical certificate of the product. 
• We visit manufacturing laboratories to ensure that the good manufacturing practices required for each drug are followed.
• We carry out physical testing and verification of the drugs by our Quality Control Department, which is responsible for re-submitting them for analysis to an authorized laboratory of the Ministry of Health, a government agency that acts as a third party in terms of guarantee.