An authorized generic drug is a brand name drug marketed without the manufacturer’s label. Learn why authorized generics exist and how they help patients. In order to get a stamp of approval from the FDA, a generic medication must be bioequivalent to its brand-name counterpart. This means that chemically the two must be pretty much the same, although makers are allowed 20% variation in the active ingredient from that original formula. Generic medicines use the same active ingredients as brand-name medicines and work the same way, so they have the same risks and benefits as the brand-name medicines. Multiple companies can manufacture and sell generic versions of the brand name product. However, some drugs may never have a generic because manufacturers may deem these products unprofitable or too difficult to manufacture. Generic drugs are allowed for sale after the patents on the original drugs expire. Read a discussion of FDA's guidance recommending that generic applicants design and develop generic drugs with a similar size and shape to the brand name product. Pharmacists and doctors can answer questions about which generic medications are interchangeable for their brand-name counterparts and which are not. A book published by the FDA each year and updated periodically also provides guidance about which medications are interchangeable. Generic drugs can look quite different than their brand-name counterparts, despite having the same active ingredient, strength, uses, form, route of administration, and labeling. Generic medications are equal substitutes for brand name medications. Generic medications are determined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be as safe as the brand name medications. How can I get generic drugs? To find out if there’s a generic drug that will work just as well for you as a brand-name drug you’re taking, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. Tell them you want the most effective drug at the best price, and that you want prescriptions for generic drugs when possible.