Posted by ed_uk2010 on July 28, 2010, at 15:38:46
In reply to Re: Fillers in meds, why not the same? Generics, posted by Christ_empowered on July 27, 2010, at 20:12:51
The term 'filler' is best avoided because it wrongly suggests that the substances in question have no purpose. The term used in the pharmaceutical industry is excipient. Excipients used in tablets have a wide variety of uses eg. binders (to prevent the tablet from falling apart), disintegrants (to help the tablet disintegrate rapidly in the stomach), colours and lubricants (to prevent the tablet ingredients from sticking to the machinery during the manufacturing process). In many cases, there are several alternative excipients which can be used for the same purpose.
Generics manufacturers may choose to use different excipients to the original brand for several reasons. It can depend on the machinery used in the tablet manufacturing process. It can depend on the choice of packaging. In some cases, manufacturers may favour excipients which they already use for other products in their portfolio.
>maybe cost is a deciding factor?
All common excipients are inexpensive.
poster:ed_uk2010
thread:956143
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20100720/msgs/956235.html