Same drugs, better prices

By Bankrate.com

On crowded drugstore shelves, over-the-counter drug brands such as Tylenol, Advil and NyQuil get the biggest play and the most shopping dollars.

But for the average consumer, brand names often aren't the best choice. They usually cost considerably more than off-brand drugs, which contain identical active ingredients and are just as strictly regulated by the federal Food and Drug Administration.

Off-brand or store-brand OTC drugs exist in most categories where there are brand-name over-the-counter drugs. From pain relief to heartburn to cold remedies, there are most likely several store-brand and off-brand alternatives to choose from.

OTC medications must, like prescription drugs, be approved by the FDA, which periodically switches certain medications from prescription-only to nonprescription status.

Drugs available over the counter need no prescription, although they do contain guidelines for use and information on possible interactions with other over-the-counter and prescription drugs.

Medications that recently have become available over the counter include allergy drugs Claritin and Zyrtec and heartburn drug Prilosec.

The FDA may switch a drug to nonprescription status to increase consumer access.

One downside is that over-the-counter version can be more expensive for consumers than prescription drugs with an insurance co-pay.

The rising number of drugs available over the counter is all the more reason consumers should pay more attention to price and favor lower-cost, off-brand drugs, says Steve Findlay at Consumers Union, the consumer advocacy group that publishes Consumer Reports.

"There is no reason why a consumer should pay more for a brand-name drug than for an off-brand with identical ingredients," he says.

Identical ingredients

Partly because of the marketing muscle of the large consumer-products companies that manufacture brand-name drugs such as Benadryl (for allergies), Zantac (for ulcers) and Cortaid (for itchy skin), many consumers harbor the mistaken notion that such brand names are safer and more reliable than their off-brand siblings.

Not so, says Findlay, who notes that "the same regulations apply to the manufacturers of off-brand, over-the-counter medications as apply to brand medications. The FDA regulates both in a fairly rigorous way."

That consumers are hesitant to purchase off-brand drugs is not only a tribute to the marketing power of the brand-name drug companies, but also a sign of consumers' experience with private-label brands in other arenas, such as grocery products.

"If you've had a bad experience with a private-label brand in another setting, you might be less willing to buy an off-label or store-brand OTC medication," says Mary Jenkins, the vice president of clinical services for Innoviant, a pharmacy-benefits administrator and unit of Fiserv Health.

Same factory, different box

What consumers don't realize is that in many cases, the brand-name and off-brand drug may be produced in the same factory, just placed in different boxes. So a store-brand bottle of pain-relieving ibuprofen may come from the same manufacturer as the brand-name ibuprofen.

So why do consumers keep going for the more expensive store brand?

"Expectations," Jenkins says. "Companies spend millions of dollars in direct-to-consumer advertising to create a perception among consumers that they are safer and more reliable."

Findlay says that brand-name OTC drugs also tend to be more "front and center on store shelves," and such placement is more likely to catch the eye of a consumer in a hurry.

Continued: Read the label

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