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Article
Is There a Difference with Generic Prozac?
Prozac was developed by Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical company.
It was developed to help people cope with the symptoms of clinically
diagnosed depression. The important factor to understand here is that
Prozac is not a drug that will cure depression, it will simply
alleviate some of depression’s symptoms. What it does is affect levels
of chemicals in the brain, specifically serotonin, a neurotransmitter.
Clinically diagnosed depression alters the levels of neurotransmitters
and Prozac can balance them temporarily, but not fix the problem.
Eli Lilly’s patent on producing Prozac ran out in 2001, allowing other
companies to come out and create generic Prozac for people. Because
depression has been classified as a actual disease, the search for
antidepressant drugs has been fast and furious. Once the patent ran out
on Prozac, companies could start producing generic Prozac, which will
help the medical profession and the consumer. It will create a cheaper
alternative.
Of course, generic Prozac can also have a negative effect, that people
might not immediately think about. With generic Prozac on the market,
and easier to get, recommendations will only increase for it, and
people who may feel they have depression but be misdiagnosed will
clamor to get their hands on it. This can lead to dangerous situations,
as Prozac is not made for simple consumption the same way aspirin or
other over the counter medicines are. Generic Prozac will give more
people the opportunity to get Prozac.
Financially, generic Prozac can be a good thing. It will give people a
chance to get a drug that they might not have been able to get when
only Eli Lilly was producing it. Generic Prozac will drive the cost
down, and unfortunately the demand up. It is becoming such a popular
drug and so accessible that people are self-diagnosing depression. How
much of an effect this has on us as a society remains to be
seen.
