Listen man, do you know what a generic brand medication is? When a company (Merck in the case of finasteride) "discovers" or develops a medication, they patent it. No other company in the world is allowed to legally sell that medication (which is a FREAKING MOLECULE). Propecia= Finasteride (the scientific name of the molecule). Once the patent expires, anyone is allowed to develop and sell that molecule, but NOT allowed to use the "original" name Propecia.
IT IS STILL FINASTERIDE. The molecule is the exact same. There is nothing added to Propecia nor is there anything added to Generic finasteride. They are both just Finasteride. Same thing for Advil and Ibuprofen, or Tylenol and Acetominophen.
Or v**** and Sidenafil. They are the exact same down to every chemical bond down to every atom down to every electron. If anyone tells you a generic is less effective than brand name, you automatically know you cannot trust this person.
Source: Med student, common knowledge, internet
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Propecia:
N-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-3-oxo-(5α,17β)-4-azaandrost-1-ene-17-carboxami
Finasteride:
N-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-3-oxo-
(5α,17β)-4-azaandrost-1-ene-17-carboxami
Study organic chemistry if you want to know what that means. I don't understand what is so difficult to understand, they are the same.
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I have heard of Dr. Feller.
I do wonder why they say this. I suspect they want to push Propecia? I'm not sure how it is in the states but wouldn't surprise me if they are pushing Propecia and Rogaine due to some deal. Pharmaceutical companies normally try and get Doctors to promote their particular stuff, I suspect Propecia and Rogaine (since they had the patent on their chemical back in the day) got in first.
You are absolutely right WolfPack. Although direct compensation for Doctors in terms of prescribing medication is illegal, it is a well known fact that Doctors are "encouraged" to prescribe a particular medication. For example: a general practitioner who regularly prescribes Sidenafil (Brand name v****) will be flown out, with his wife, all expenses paid to a "conference" in the Bahamas, Florida, Cuba, etc. The company (Pfizer) will basically give the Doctor whatever he wants, and then show him a brief conference on their drug (v****). If he decides to prescribe v****, and not generic Sidenafil to his patients, the doctor will continue to get these advantages (like being flown out for 2 weeks to a beautiful island resort).
Regulation of doctor compensation is much more strict in Canada than in the US. If you want answers, see a doctor you know is not prescribing a certain medication. For example, ask a cardiologist if generic brand finasteride is less effective than Propecia. Do not ask him however if Lopressor is as effective as Metaprolol. You get the idea. Hope this ends the debate
