WHAT has our country become? Are we still democratic or is this the start of our shift to totalitarianism?
With the passage of the cheaper medicines bill, our right to choose what we want to buy and how much we want to spend for it has now been curtailed. Now the government will start telling you what to buy and dictate to businesses how much they must sell their goods for.
Businesses are now at the mercy of the government as they will now be run from the outside. Entrepreneurs be warned! It is now dangerous to set up shop in the Philippines. No wonder foreign investors pulled out, which made our stock market fall 100 points (3 percent) today. I cannot believe that our congressmen could pass such a bill that has effectively cut free trade in this country built and known for its democratic way of life.
How I wish they could have considered these several points that I will highlight:
1. There are costs in producing medicines. The higher the quality, the more investment that will be needed. How can you produce a 500mg Amoxicillin capsule at P1.50 if the cost of the raw materials alone, less the production cost, is already at P2.50??? What does this tell you? I wonder just how much of the medicine is actually inside these capsules; do the math. Will these congressmen honestly use generic brands when their own children get sick? Take this P1.50 Amoxicillin in front of a camera Mr. Congressman.
2. Researching a new drug takes years to develop. The company will run countless tests and endless re-tests to develop a brand. This will take millions, even billions in investment. The patent will ensure that they are properly compensated for all the hardship. Now, the government would like to just step in and cash in on the hard work of others.
3. Parallel importation is so unfair to business as the government will benefit from the marketing and promotion of the company selling the brand locally. Plus the fact that now, you won’t be sure if the branded product that you are buying is the real thing or the low quality parallel-imported one. Has everyone forgotten that the reason for getting into business is to earn a profit? The pharmaceutical industry is a business, my dear congressmen, not a charitable institution. Therefore, it is not their fault if they are selling and promoting their products for profit! The best that you could have done for the people is to put an end to corruption and give out free medicine, which we taxpayers have paid for. Our health centers have long been out of stock of vaccines and medicines that used to be given for free to the poor. Where has the budget for all these products gone? We have one of the highest taxes in the region, yet this benefit is not being enjoyed by the poor. This is because for every peso collected, only 0.40 goes back to us and we lose the rest to corruption.
The passage of this bill sends chills to my spine as now it has set the precedent for other monstrous things to happen. Who’s to suffer next? Maybe the cost of the Louis Vuitton bag is much too high for the government that they would next pass a bill telling LV to sell it at only P500.00 as they find it overpriced! I really am dreading what’s in store for businesses here in this country. Totalitarianism will drive our booming economy to the ground.
– Paul Santillana, Sikatuna Village, Quezon City, Philippines (via e-mail)
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May 3rd, 2008 at 6:30 am
My Dear Friend,
They say; it is a free world… it is up for grab.. and if you are really greedy .. you can have it all. I am in the Pharmaceutical business for more or less 20 years, currently I have my own drug-outlets (Botika), and some how making reasonable profit from this business. I have observed that many pharmacetical companies both foreign and local, are in very active practice of buying Prescription from Doctors for both govt., and private. The reality dictates that in order to survive in a dynamic and very competitive pharma market is to actively participate in promotional activites. When I say promotional activites these are doctor sample. literature, cost of having Medical Rep., and managers, perks for pharmaceutical personnel, perks for doctors ( sponsorship, dine-out, sometimes with family, trips abroad) cars for pharmaceutical personnel ( imagine an ordinary office staff have a car plan) product deals to Doctors and to drugstores, and among others. These are the reality in the pharmaceutical industry, sad to say the poor Juan de la Cruz shoulders these expenses through paying the higher cost of medicine. In my business, I have no problem dispensing Generic Meds., to be honest generic products sales grew by +45%( CAAG -YTD March 2007- 2008) and still growing. This is an indication that more and more buying public are into generic ( bioequivalent to branded products). The approval of cheaper medicine bill will be a great help to the greater poor ( Class C, D & E) and especially to the poorest among the poor. The bill will be great challenge to multinational companies. I have heard the majority of them, in order to survive, have to scale down business operation in the next 48- 62 months ( they have to do this in order to survive) and at the same time tream down expenses or worse closed shop. I am expecting 50 to 60% reduction of business activities for Multinational companies (due to parallel importation).This is the first phase on the effect of the bill to the multinational. But let us see the other side of the coin, The cheaper medicine bill will bring a new set of players in the pharmaceutical industry. A new business, specifically the trading budiness and retailing business, will play a major role in making the bill work. But there is also another side of the story, it may discourage local manufacturer to actively participate in the indutsry.It is expected that local drug companies will suffer the same faith as their multinational counterpart. The local manufacturer will have a big tool of loosing market share for teir products as cheaper branded from India and Pakistan will sold by large retailers in the market. The bill specifically mentioned that anybody who have the capitalization to go for distribution will have a greater advantage. Currently we have big players in the distributuin market, Mercury, Mansons, Watsons,Carlos Drug and among others are in better position or I may say will greatly benefit from the bill. The bill allows , any body, to do parallel importation for both branded and generic products. Mercury for sure will have its own Amox. paracetamol, anti-HPN lines and etc., giving an tense market competition in the industry. Other key players in the retailing business will surely respond to the trend. In effect beneficial to the buying public. the question now is how will benefit from this business, in the long run, Indian and Pakistan drug manufacturer. These companies form india and pakistan will be in better position coz of the large demand from the philippine market ( Phil. Pharma market is expected to grow by $3.5 billion in 2010, with ave. anuual growth of +8%.). The Phil., pharmaceutical manufacturer industry have to trim down operation in the long-run in order to survive. The question is , did the bill will eventaully achieved its objective, the answer is definetly YES!! it will lower the price of Branded medicine by as much as; 50% for the next 24 months and 75% for the next 48 months. What will happened to the pharma industry, a new set of players will come in, redifining the key players. Remember, the pharma market is billion dollar market, any businessman will surely wants a big cake !
April 4th, 2008 at 12:38 am
i just got to read all the comments here and i regret that i didn’t find this thread sooner so that my resolve on this was still BOILING when i read your comments.
obviously, a lot of you have missed the point of my mail (it was directed to inquirer by the way and not to the masses to comment to). this i say to clarify that i am not lobbying for pharmaceutical companies. these thoughts are my thoughts. i said these things coz i feel that the government has no right in meddling in any private business, whatever it is. and that is the point of all this… FREE TRADE my dear ladies & gentlemen! we work hard for our money and we deserve every penny we earn from it!
you are just giving these not so smart legislators more will and power to do what they want with the tone of what most of you are saying. TO INTRUDE IN EACH AND EVERY LITTLE THING THEY WANT TO STICK THEIR GREEDY FINGERS INTO.
and most of you are uneducated indeed when it comes to the pharma industry in our country as the GENERICS LAW has been in place since the 80’s and what this bill wants to achieve is just to make the authors of this bill rich, in the guise of course of helping the masses. they are smart in this sense! believe me, THEY DUPED YOU INTO THINKING THAT THEY REALLY WANTED TO HELP YOU when in fact they just want to help themselves to MORE of our money!
wake up and smell the coffee my dear countrymen. can’t you still spot a POLITICAL CON even after everything that has already happened to our country????
and to ROILO, just to end, OF COURSE Louis Vuitton is totally unrelated to the medicines! it was just a pun intended to stress a point! i just wanted to DRAMATICALLY express that now, any business can just be taken over by our government if they feel like it! my god, should i explain everything!?!
ADIOS!
February 28th, 2008 at 1:13 am
Erap the convicted thief was talking.
February 13th, 2008 at 11:49 pm
I would asume that the person who started this blog is into medicine business or has a relative who is into meds business…and this person or the relative of this person is very very very much affected…MAWAWALAN SYA NG KIKITAIN!!!!!!
bwahahahahaha
Cheaper meds….SOUNDS VERY GOOD TO ME…I DONT CARE WHAT THE BILL SAYS…ALL I CARE ABOUT IS ME..MY FAMILY AND MY COUNTRYMEN WILL HAVE ACCESS TO CHEAPER MEDICINES…
Ok na ako dun sa merong 5 negosyante na mawawalan ng kita…kung imupara naman natin na milyon milyong pilipino ang makikinabang…
February 6th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
I would be joining the “less informed” bandwagon and therefore i am agreeing more with the points raised by kulagukoy.
Do we have a link to where i can possibly access the draft of the bill (both the senate and the lower house version)?
denshi: don’t you think it’s a bit naive to presume a provision would equivocally mandate:
“doctors to prescribe generic medicines ONLY, and holds them liable if they prescribe branded medicines.”
i havent’ read the bill so all i am trusting is my practical assumption that the bill is there to help people have access to cheaper medicine. so there must be something wrong with the way you interpreted the line, hence I would request if you can give the drafted provision.
now, I too have a lot of questions. Is the bill there to substantially lower the cost of medicine by providing non-branded access to medicine ONLY? or will the patients be prescribed INNs and will have the freedom to choose which brand they would take or afford? i mean for example, my doctor would prescribe paracetamol the options are up for me to pick either tylenol, panadol, panamax, calpol, etc. whatever suits my pocket.
One of my prime considerations to curing illness is the cost it would take me to heal. A lot share that sentiment hence we still have the flourishing quack docs. poor people like me would often look for something accessible and affordable more than effectiveness. taking medicine with perceived low efficacy can still keep a “placebo effect” among sufferers of certain diseases on the idea that they are taking something to relieve them of their afflictions than not having taking anything at all. The rich and those who long for the supposed “quick” healing through expensive drugs should keep that prerogative on them. But give the poor access to cheaper medicine.
And one fast reaction to arnel’s resentment: too defeatist IMHO. Cmon, how much of the poor file law suits stemming from the line “dok, ba’t ang tanggal gumaling?” But if the line would start at, “dok ba’t namatay sya sa nireseta nyong gamot” really that is a cause for concern if the doc will answer back “dahil kseh mumurahin ang gamot” now I guess BFAD should look at the proliferating medical products closely or the offending doc might want to start questioning his expertise. Medical factors such as the urgency of taking medicines, approaching the doctor at the right time, taking the right dosage and combination, addressing the first line therapy, etc. is as complex as any disease itself. Compounded with the fact that most poor sufferers find it hard to secure required medicine because of the oppressive price tags, a lot will end up dead really.
February 6th, 2008 at 1:24 am
Hello pips,
Hindi na bago yang generic prescription. When I was in training in a public institution, we are told by the training dept to use generics. Nasa batas na yan mga pips matagal na po. Ang problema mahina ang BFAD natin. Hanapin nyo sa internet kung ano BFAD if hindi nyo alam (galit!). Tingnan nyo rin na nagresign ang dating director dahil sa issues on generics. Bakit kamo? May mga polticians na involved sa generic dispensing. Sa hospital we are happy na medicines are cheap but look at the clinical efficacy matagal gumagaling ang mga patient esp infections. Lalo na sa pinoy na pumupunta sa doktor pag malala na. So alam nyo na ang ending ng patients. Sige iblame nyo sa doktor and make them liable. The more doctors will migrate. Mahirap manirahan sa ibang bayan but if ganyan sa pnas buti pa umalis na ang mga doctor ang magpakaalila sa ibang bansa. So before you enforce something, make sure the checkpoints are strong. Maging matino ang mga tao sa BFAD but sino ba maging matino if politicians din ang naganegosyo. So you end up in court if you are the one the doing the right thing. So stop your blahblah and look at the issues. We are not againts cheap medicine but sana those medicines are guarded and guaranteed by those who should do.
February 5th, 2008 at 5:18 am
denshi wrote….
First, let me address kalagukoy (and majority of uniformed people here),
The bill limits a doctor’s choice on what is best to prescribe his patient. My parents have tried generic versions of Lipitor and Glucopage, and had mixed results with them. Their doctor at first persuaded to it is best they stick with Lipitor and Glucopage rather than branch off to generic versions.
The bill mandates that doctors to prescribe generic medicines ONLY, and holds them liable if they prescribe branded medicines.
*******************************
what i read about the consolidated House Bill 2844, known as “An act providing for cheaper medicines and for other purposes.” was approved by the house and sent to senate for approval.
first thing first, this bill is still a bill and if approved by the senate, it will be voted or vetoed by the president GMA and before it becomes law it will take 6 months to take effect after being published in paper of general circulation.
what i don’t understand is that this lady denshi talking about generic drugs instead of lipitor for cholesterol and glucopage for diabetes which her parents are taking as brand name that caused side effects or allergy reactions as we may call it. with emphasis that the doctor can only prescribe generic and not brand name.
how could that be? where this cheaper medicine is not yet a law but still a bill subject of course to revision or add-ons.
what i can say is when it comes to bill, or law, our lawmakers know best and when it comes to medicines and patients, doctor knows best.
meaning… no cause for alarm, we are not billmakers and we are not doctors.
February 4th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
First, let me address kalagukoy (and majority of uniformed people here), one thing you can do is read the Cheaper Medicines Bill before opening your rude mouth and spilling your buffoonery all over this board?
The bill limits a doctor’s choice on what is best to prescribe his patient. My parents have tried generic versions of Lipitor and Glucopage, and had mixed results with them. Their doctor at first persuaded to it is best they stick with Lipitor and Glucopage rather than branch off to generic versions.
The bill mandates that doctors to prescribe generic medicines ONLY, and holds them liable if they prescribe branded medicines.
If prescriptions are limited to generic drugs alone, the identification of which medicine would best benefit a patient would no longer be lodged on the physician, but to anyone who may “recommend” a certain medicine.
The bill shifts the final choice of patients’ medicines to the drugstore salespersons who lack the knowledge and training of a doctor, and transfers accountability only to them.
So this isn’t about an anti-poor campaign that some people would like you to believe, but government’s intrusion on what they believe is best for you.
Would you trust a bunch of actors and corrupt officials over your doctor’s recommendation?
February 3rd, 2008 at 12:17 am
here we go again. contesting the wisdom of our lawmakers on cheaper medicine bill and making a hars statement as totalitarian bill.
first of all, kindly elaborate what do you mean by totalitarian bill,
in plain common sense, this cheaper medicine bill is of great help to majority poor filipinos who cannot even afford to buy a cortal or medicol for simple headache.
your’re not only a headache but pain in the ass. i think you need a diatabs to relieve your grumbling stomach with your comment.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
it’s better to lobby more on how we can help people have access to medicines they can afford rather than lobby for the pockets of corporate pharmaceuticals in the guise of “effectivity”. remember, even placebo sometimes work. let’s go for cheaper medicines. if it doesn’t work then go for another cheaper brand.
January 27th, 2008 at 9:05 am
You are obviously a joke, Paul.
My wife is a former med rep, and I know the ins and outs of the business.
I’ve been in India and saw how cheap their medicines are.
Stop your cyber whining and accept the fact that your days of greedy materialistic selfish way are over !
January 26th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
“2. Researching a new drug takes years to develop. The company will run countless tests and endless re-tests to develop a brand. This will take millions, even billions in investment. The patent will ensure that they are properly compensated for all the hardship. Now, the government would like to just step in and cash in on the hard work of others.”
Really now? The fact is, this R & D cost should have already been recovered upon the medicine’s introduction in first world countries.
The government has every right to step in and introduce measures in the form of laws to counteract this greed for profit of pharmas courtesy of your so-called free-trade. While any intervention will never be enough, we should at least credit the government for doing its job (at least this time).
I don’t blame you, maybe Pfizer is sending food to your table. It’s understandable if you have to defend your job. Credit the legislators if its the poor majority they’re defending versus your group. After all, we expect it from them.
January 23rd, 2008 at 5:38 am
do not bother
Hi Paul,
Are you a doctor or a Med Rep? Don’t be afraid to lose ’some’ commission as you’ll be depositing some kindness to heaven by helping the poor.
++++++++++++++++
That well never happen! Doctor’s are partner of drug’s/insurance company’s. They’re making plenty of money from these co. Of course they’re opposing the generic drug! There goes their livehound ika nga!
January 22nd, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Paul,
Thats not Doctor Of Medicine for DOM to clarify matters later. I dont have medical expertise at all except to advise my partners not to forget their pills.
Generics or cheap medicine bill are misnomers. Just a waste of salivas. Palabas lang like a promise. Everyone knows things will cost more tomorrow. Even medicines. Prices wont stay permanent. Only my haircut. Theres nothing to cut anyway anymore.
January 22nd, 2008 at 4:06 pm
I found helpful facts for people who have a lot of misconceptions (and doubts) about generic drugs. It’s on the website of the US Food and Drug Administration - Office of Generic Drugs (they even have an office for generic drugs!).
Here’s the link: http://www.fda.gov/cder/ogd/
January 22nd, 2008 at 1:41 am
Hi Paul,
Are you a doctor or a Med Rep? Don’t be afraid to lose ’some’ commission as you’ll be depositing some kindness to heaven by helping the poor.
January 22nd, 2008 at 1:36 am
For sure, Paul is, how ever, linked to the drug business. Otherwise, no normal thinking people could hit at the law which would give a chance to get needed medicines at an affordable price. Because, even with an generic prescription, every pharmacy will happily sell him a more expensive branded medicine, no cutting of rights.
Besides, what else are all the branded varieties of a medicament if not also generics? They are not the original product from the inventor company and still mostly more expensive, even their producer had never any research expenses for the product, only franchise costs.
How Mr. Paul knows that only the materiel of Amoxillin is P 2.50? Does he want to say that a generica producer would sell it with a loss of at least one Peso per tablet? Because the content is the same than in branded tablets or it would not have passed the approval measures. What usually is different at generics is the cheaper, more simple packing, without expensive printed boxes. But that has no effect on the medical value of the medicine.
Most drug companies have factories in cheap countries, even in RP, but still sell their products at a price as if they have been produced in high cost, high salary countries. Of course, every business needs profit, but still it should be at a reasonable limit and there is nothing like this in the Philippines.
This is not only with medicines, it is also with much more common products. Or, for example, can anyone explain why a branded original ink cartridge for a printer cost in USA about 15 Dollar but in RP near 35 Dollar? It is the same problem at numerous products, so, let there be a chance to less moneyed people that Mr. Paul seems to be, for some more affordable prices at least at medicines which could be the choice between life or death.
Dear Paul, if you do not like or trust Amoxillin for P 1.50 or P 2.00, just buy branded pills which you can choose up to 500% more expensive. In your view, anyway the most expensive must be the best.
January 21st, 2008 at 8:23 pm
Bilang isang responsableng doktor, binasa ko na ang Cheaper medicines bill, at sa aking pagbabasa ay wala akong nakitang hadlang sa aking patuloy na pagbibigay serbisyo sa aking mga pasyente kung aking susundan ang mga nakasulat dito. Sa katunayan, mula nang ako ay unang magsulat ng reseta hanggang sa kasalukuyan ay hindi ako naglalagay ng brand name sa reseta, pwera na lang kung kelangan ko na ilagay yung brand na MAS MURA para ito ay mabili ng aking pasyente (dahil ang ibang drug store ay nagtutulak ng mas mahal na brand ng gamot kung di ko ilalagay ang MAS MURA na brand sa reseta). Para sa ating mga mambabatas: gawin nyo lang kung ano ang tingin nyo na makakatulong sa ating mga kababayan at mga pasyente, huwag kayo magpapaimpluwensya sa mga kumpanya ng mga gamot at sa ilang mga doktor na may ibang hangarin maliban sa pag-alaga sa kapakanan ng mga pasyente.
January 21st, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Believe it or not the reason these doctor against this cheaper medicin because they won’t be able to make their commission on it.
January 21st, 2008 at 3:06 pm
sorry paul, it should be santillana.
i was thinking of another same-sounding george santayana…
January 21st, 2008 at 2:55 pm
mr. santayana..
it is obvious you are protecting some vested interest(multinational drug co.), and not the interest of the common people.
do not fool us w/ the yarn re billions of $$ being spent on these and that to develop a drug…what they can do is STOP spending millions of $$$ for doctors travels, seminars, studies, and payments to big stars to promote their branded drugs.
it is pathetic that you would name drop some brand name like LV just to prove your point, but it just showed how shallow your premises are.
maawa ka naman sa taong-bayan!
hindi na nila kayang bumili ng gamot dahil sa napakataas na presyo!
January 21st, 2008 at 1:18 pm
mr. santillana,
either you are a highy paid lobbyist by drug companies or own its stocks, either way you become a part of this sinister campaign of genocide of epic proportion.
our present health system that allows some patient to die because his/her next of kin can not afford to pay up front the cost of hospitalization are becoming the common tragedy in juan dela cruz life. and to do those who manage to buy some time with their borrowed time now are being strangled by the price of pills that was supposedly will give them life.
for the few millions that have access to health insurance the grim prognosis of making them healthy are now questionable due the inflated price of medicine.
the poor that seldom see the doctor in their natural life can not even now buy an affordable simple pain killer without using the money they need to buy the next meal for their loved one.
this is the picture we are seeing now mr.santillana. can you see it?
kayana2/lasvegasnv.
January 21st, 2008 at 4:57 am
Talaga?
Tell that to Pingot.
January 20th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
Dear Paul,
Son puras mentiras! What a pack of lies!
While I agree with you on the opprobriousness of the rampant and widespread cases of corruption of our fake government, headed by the fake president, I do believe that the Cheaper Medicine Bill is good for the poor Filipino people. Yes, we do have a choice: to buy our quality medicine at a cheaper cost.
Yes, research and development has a high cost, cost of production is high, gov’t importation is unfair to the business establishment. And this is the same reason this sharks (multinational corporations) are telling the government! Are you their agent or a representative of the poor Filipino people?
Do you know that compared with our Asian neighbors, the Philippines is the only country where the cost of quality medicines is so exorbitant that its ordinary poor citizens cannot afford to buy them. Why is it so? Because your multinational corporations monopolized the production of medicines, and hence their cost. And they do these through the help of our corrupt and fake government. Why is it that China and India can produce quality medicines at very low cost and sell them at very low price to the consumers? Do you think they are of poor quality? If they are of poor quality, why are their people getting healed instead of getting sick when they are taking them? Why are First World countries importing these same medicines?
The cost of R and D of your multinational corporations are high because that is what they want us to believe, high! In reality, they are not! Technologically-advanced R and D nowadays are the cheapest, you only need good scientists/chemists to concoct the idea and the computer-driven equipment will invent your product for you! Nanotechnology has hasten the discovery and invention of things, you can now build anything out of nothing: Biofuels, diamonds, bacterias, medicines, machines. . . Name it, they can produce it.
The cost of production of your multinational communities’ medicines are high because they want us to believe it, high! In reality, they are not!
Let me give you examples of other commodities that are offered at low costs, Dell computers and laptops, Europe’s Aldi and Lidl products. . . And, let us not go farther, just go to Divisoria, and you will see all of them.
Gimme a break, Mr. Santillana! Yours is nothing but another Ms Fernandes. . . Cheapshots!!!
Bob Delfin
January 20th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
To Paul
What has the price of luxury Vuitton handbags to do with cheaper medicines?
However, do not tell me that you do not know that such luxury items mostly are produced in cheap countries with low salaries? They are just ordered to made, and the quality is not from the brand owner but maybe from very low paid asian or african workers. The brand owners only set a standard how it has to look like. That is, why same products without the luxury brand name are sold much cheaper, even they are produced by the same company and the same workers.
January 20th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Dear Paul,
it looks really like you are in business with drugs. Or why you are damning a bill which would allow even poor people to avail the medicines they need? Besides, nobody disallows you to buy more expensive branded medicines, the bill only protects poor people from being forced to buy the expensive drugs they cannot afford.
Your being pityful with the drug manufacturers is more than obvious. If you want to explain why drugs have to be expensive, then please be correct.
Yes, it takes time and money to create a new medicine, but as long as it is new, anyway no cheaper generic is allowed by patent rules. Where are generics, usually the patent is already outdated. And at this time, the costs of research are already recovered hundred times if the drug was successful. If not, anyway nobody will produce genericas.
About Amoxillin, please remind youself that this drug is sold under countless names and prices up to 20 times the generic price. Not to mention that the most expensive kind are often produced by franchise companies, not by the original inventor.
In addition, why for example my eye medicine cost more in RP than in expensive Europe or USA? It even has increased instead of becoming cheaper in Pesos because imports are billed in cheap Dollars.
Contrary to other Health Insurances, the philippine Philhealth does not cover medicines, which means that a patient even hospitalized with Philhealth cannot afford the medicines he or she got prescribed.
I have been for a check at a hospital and they prescribed pills to buy at the hospital pharmacy, near 70 Pesos each. After using it, I bought the same pills as generics, the same content, for 10 Pesos each at a normal pharmacy. The difference made about 2000 Pesos for 14 days.
And there is another important fact at generics: Usually they contain only the original product and nothing else. While branded products mostly have some additional contents which are not helpful or often even contradicting the working of the real needed content.
Just think at Paracetamol, it is sold under more than hundred names, with several additions which are completely unneeded for what Paracetamol has to do, pain relief. But still such brands have an extremewide range of prices, so why not to buy the generic original, Paracetamol and nothing else?