Generic drugs online

Everyone likes a bargain, especially when it comes to prescription medications. That's what makes generic drugs so appealing.

While generic drugs can cost about half the amount of brand name drugs, nobody wants to sacrifice their health to save their wallet. But according to local pharmacists, you don't have to. They say generic medications are required to have the same active ingredients as their brand name counterparts.

"It's the same chemical and same release pattern as a brand name drug, but it's just made by a different company," said Campus Pharmacy owner and pharmacist, Dave Tyburski. "It has to go through FDA approval just like every brand name drug."

So why the huge cost difference?

Pharmacists say when you pay extra money for brand name drugs, you're actually paying off money owed by big name drug companies. Big brand drug companies who develop the drug have to pay fees for research, development, and patents. U.S. medications go through several stages to get approved by the FDA, and each stage costs millions of dollars.

When the brand's patent for the drug expires, generic companies are allowed to make and distribute the drug with exactly the same ingredients.

"They don't have to pay for all the research and development that the brand name company did," Tyburski said. "They're just basically buying the raw ingredients, manufacturing it, and selling it, so you don't have the added cost."

There are generic versions of almost every medication at your pharmacy, and chances are if there isn't one available now, there will be in a few years when the brand's patent expires.