Diabetes is a condition that needs medication regularly in order to keep the sugar levels in control. Therefore, anyone affected with diabetes often need to take several drugs and medications that include insulin or blood-glucose-lowering pills, blood pressure pills, and even cholesterol-lowering pills. This could lead to a rise in your medical expenses. Therefore, one good way to save money on anti-diabetic drugs is to take the generic or non-branded versions of the medicines, if available. There are plenty of generic medicines suppliers India has in the market today. There are many generic medicine stores online such as StayHappi that ensure good quality generic medicines are delivered to your doorstep.

So, are generic medicines substantially different from branded drugs? If not, the question arises as to why they aren’t used more often? Let’s take a look at why certain generic anti-diabetic medicines can be the alternative to branded medicines.

What are generic medicines?

All medicines or drugs – whether prescribed or over the counter – have a non-proprietary name, which is also known as a generic name, and this name of the drug is not subject to being trademarked. However, only some of these medicines are sold as generic drugs. The sale of a generic medicine depends on when the patent(s) help by the developer of the medicine expires. A patent gives the developer the exclusive right to market the medicine under their brand name for a certain span of time.

Other than patent expiration, for the generic medicine to come to the market, it takes a lot more than that. The manufacturer of the generic drug has to prove to the FDA that their product is bioequivalent to the branded drug it is duplicating. Simply put, it must be scientifically demonstrated that the drug performs in the same manner as the original, branded drug.

Let’s now take a look at some of the most common branded diabetic drugs and their generic alternatives. They including the following:

1. Glimepiride 1 Mg + Metformin 500 Mg + Voglibose 0.2 Mg

The composition of these three generic drugs is used to treat diabetes and a strip of 10 comes at a price of Rs. 43.33 as opposed to its branded drug alternatives-

  • Amaryl MV 1 mg (10 tabs – Rs. 126.54),
  • Ozomet VG 1 mg (10 tabs – Rs. 133),
  • Glycomet Trio 1 (10 tabs – Rs. 129.24),
  • Glimisave MV 1 mg (15 tabs – Rs. 176.25),
  • Glucoryl MV 1 mg (15 tabs – Rs. 233.5) and
  • Zoryl MV 1 mg (10 tabs – Rs. 137).

Average Savings – 73%

2. Gliclazide 80 Mg

This generic drug is used to treat diabetes and a strip of 10 comes at a price of Rs. 29 as opposed to its branded drug alternatives-

  • Diamicron 80 mg (10 tabs – Rs. 65),
  • Glizid 80 (10 tabs – Rs. 90.75),
  • Reclide (15 tabs – Rs. 99.5),
  • Dianorm 80 mg (10 tabs – Rs. 59),
  • Glycinorm 80 (10 tabs – Rs. 68) and
  • Glycigon (10 tabs – Rs. 52.55).

Average Savings – 60%

3. Gliclazide 60 Mg

This generic drug is used to treat diabetes and a strip of 10 comes at a price of Rs. 47 as opposed to its branded drug alternatives-

  • Diamicron XR 60 (14 tabs – Rs. 182),
  • Glizid XR 60 (10 tabs – Rs. 130),
  • Glycid XR 60 (10 tabs – Rs. 60),
  • Dianorm OD 60 (10 tabs – Rs. 95),
  • Glycinorm OD 60 (10 tabs – Rs. 114.9) and
  • Glycigon 60 mg (10 tabs – Rs. 73.5).

Average Savings – 57%

4. Glimepiride 1 Mg

This generic drug is used to treat diabetes and a strip of 10 comes at a price of Rs. 10 as opposed to its branded drug alternatives-

  • Amaryl 1 mg (30 tabs – Rs. 117.94),
  • GP 1 (10 tabs – Rs 39.31),
  • Zoryl 1 (15 tabs – Rs. 58.97),
  • Azulix 1 (10 tabs – Rs. 39.25),
  • Glimestar 1 (10 tabs – Rs. 26.46) and
  • Glimisave 1 (15 tabs – Rs. 58.97).

Average Savings – 83%

5. Glimepiride 2 Mg + Metformin 500 Mg

The composition of these two generic drugs is used to treat diabetes and a strip of 10 is priced at Rs. 39 as opposed to its branded drug alternatives-

  • Amaryl M 2 mg (15 tabs – Rs. 247.74),
  • Glycomet GP 2 Tablet PR (15 tabs – Rs. 141.95),
  • Zoryl M 2 Tablet PR (20 tabs – Rs. 242),
  • Azulix 2 MF Tablet PR (15 tabs – Rs. 173),
  • Glimestar M 2 (10 tabs – Rs. 82.5) and
  • Glimisave M 2 Tablet PR (15 tabs – Rs. 151.52).

Average Savings – 83%

6. Metformin 500 mg

This generic drug is used to treat diabetes and a strip of 10 comes at a price of Rs. 12 as opposed to its branded drug alternatives-

  • Glycomet (10 tabs – Rs. 16.46),
  • Glychiphage (20 tabs – Rs. 32.82),
  • Gluformin 500 (100 tabs – Rs. 16.39),
  • Obimet (15 tabs – Rs. 24.61),
  • Melmet 500 (20 tabs – Rs. 41.89) and
  • Okamet 500 (20 tabs – Rs. 27.72).

Average Savings – 65%

As you can see, generic drugs are a less costly and just as effective as the branded drugs for those with diabetes. For many, generic drugs are a safe and effective alternative for costlier branded drugs and after consulting with your health specialist or doctor, if you are willing to give generic medicines a try to keep your diabetes in control, you can shop for these medicines at the StayHappi Pharmacy near you!