by Psyber » Tue Nov 10, 2009 8:25 am
I've tried a few Home Brand products and found them to be somewhat watered down - literally - versions of the original, even if from the same source.
The same applies to many generic medications - not literally watered down - but the raw powder is filtered and the finest [and best dissolving] particles go into the flagship brand.
What used to be waste then gets filtered again through a slightly less fine filter, and what passes that filtering goes into the priced down generic.
As an example, with one particular antidepressant it was common practice at a hospital I worked at to up the dose of the premium brand the patient was taking by 50% on admission.
That kept the patient's condition stable on the generic the hospital used.
The clerical administrators who made the decisions on purchase only looked at price per pill and not price for effective treatment, and wouldn't believe our clinical experience could be valid.
If you ask Medicare Australia and the PBS administrators - and many Pharmacists or doctors - they tell you the Act means the TGA test every product after any change, and any new generic.
If you read the Act, it spells out changes under which the committee may require further testing before approving the changed product.
If you do what I did and speak to someone on the TGA committee they finally say, "Well, we don't actually have the funding to test every time..."
EPIGENETICS - Lamarck was right!
