Generic finasteride.....My experience over 20 years

[20YearsOnFin]

I have started talking about this in another thread but have decided to move the topic here on its own.
This is purely my personal experience and I am not trying to prove anyone else is wrong or say all generics don't work.
This post is about the quality of Generic vs Generic and Generic vs Proscar worldwide (not just the US or EU). I have never taken Propecia so won't be commenting on that.

Generic 5mg finasteride UK PRICE £12-30/Year (predominantly made in India, but is also made in other locations, China, EU, SE Asia)
Proscar 5mg finasteride UK PRICE £55-60/Year (According to a US label finasteride made in Italy, Tablet assemble in Porto Rico, may have other locations)
Generic 1mg finasteride UK PRICE £120/Year (predominantly made in India, but is also made in other locations, China, EU, SE Asia)
(prices not including any prescription charge)

I have taken finasteride for the last 20 years approximately 8years of those on Proscar and 12 years on generic.

these are my results :

CIPLA FINCAR 5mg(Made In India): for all intents and purposes worked, but over a 7 year period the very front of my hairline became weaker/thinner......
ACTAVIS AIDEEM 1mg(Made In India): ineffective (Caused my hair to continually shed excessively/miniaturize)
ACCORD 1mg(Made In India): ineffective (Caused my hair to continually shed excessively/miniaturize)
PROSTACOM 5mg: ineffective(Caused my hair to continually shed excessively/miniaturize)
PROSTIDE 5mg: Worked
PROSCAR 5mg: Worked

(These results seam to be user specific as many people swear there is no difference)

In the early part of the 2000's there were only a few Generic finasteride brands(dr Reddy's, Cipla etc , since 2014 especially there now seams to be hundreds, its impossible for anyone to personally test all of them, but there are 4 questions that I have asked myself.

1)Are all of the 100-200 generics available created equally?
2)Are the generics 100% Identical to Proscar?
3)Does it matter?
and lastly....
4)If the price is approximately the same or cheaper is there anything else I own where I would rather buy an Indian made version over one that is made in the EU?

Here is the FDA's answer
Are generic drugs less effective?
No. Generic medications are just as effective as brand-name drugs. According to the FDA, drug makers must prove that generic medications can be substituted for brand-name drugs and offer the same benefits as their brand-name counterparts

Here Is a chemists answer:

5 Problems with Generics to Ponder

Generic drugs are cheap, effective, and FDA approved. So, what's the problem?

www.pharmacytimes.com

or

Why your generic drugs may not be safe and the FDA may be too lax

As drug prices soar, consumers look for cheaper generics. A recent study showed safety issues in some generics made abroad, however, suggesting that the FDA’s honor system may not be enough to ensure safety.

theconversation.com

Here is a doctors answer:

https://www.wolfhair.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Brand-Name-vs-Generic-Finasteride-Jan-Feb-2016.pdf

Here's a paper passing an generic 5mg on bioequivalence but does note its not 100% the same

http://www.thaiscience.info/journals/Article/CMMJ/10905023.pdf

My opinion:
In practice only 1 of the generics that I tried were able to match my results on Proscar, that's not to say generics don't work, but out of 100-200 generics available some of them were less effective or ineffective in my case.

As the last Proscar 5mg I brought was half the price of generic 1mg , I see no reason to swap back to generics again.

If you are on generics and they are working I'm not suggesting anyone should swap. but if you have recently swapped and felt a difference or the generics you are on are not working then this may well be the reason.

 

[FromHairy2LarryDavid]

Interesting observation. 20 years is serious commitment, hats off for your patience. I'm also on generic 5mg finasteride (~0.6mg) for 2 years.

So far it's been okay for stabilization at every other day dosing. Recently noticed that the very front of my hairline looks thinner than it did at baseline and the temples clearly haven't stayed 100% either, basically a similar experience to yours I imagine. Therefore I've switched for every-day dosing recently and will increase it to 1.25mg soon if sides don't show. Hopefully things will improve.

Your theory could hold ground especially when backed with your personal experience. Personally I'm a huge advocate of economically friendly options as opposed to propecia/proscar, although I've never read much about my supply's source. All I can say is that it's generic and it's slowly failing at maintenance. Sucks how I'm nowhere near as deep in as you are at 20 years.

A friend of mine anecdotally commented on Propecia a while back, claiming he felt he had "better hair" while he was on it, in contrast to generic. Though he never measured it precisely so do with that as you please. As of now, roughly 3 years in, he's still receding on 2.5mg finasteride, min 5% twice a day. He recently picked up Avodart which he might switch to.

 

[20YearsOnFin]

Personally I'm a huge advocate of economically friendly options as opposed to propecia/proscar, although I've never read much about my supply's source

there's a US list here gives an idea where some of the brands are made

DailyMed - Search Results for FINASTERIDE

dailymed.nlm.nih.gov

Yep, im all for economically friendly options, hence the reason i've never tried Propecia, In the county's I've brought proscar from its always been priced cheaper than the 1mg generic, but slightly more than the 5mg Generic, but does vary country by country. In the end the price difference in the UK is so small over the course of a year that its not currently an issue

 

[thetdog666]

Interesting! I switched from GSK avodart to generic a while back and my hair is losing ground. Maybe its just coincidence. I have since dropped dutasteride and back on finasteride only now. Currently on accord but have never tried propecia due to cost.

 

[FromHairy2LarryDavid]

Now although unlikely, there's also other factors at play when for instance, you're in a shed phase or judging rate of regrowth/loss etc. (e.g. deficiancies, thyroid issues, hormonal fluctuations (hence why EOD dosing is slightly inferior imo) etc)
that said, only rarely have I considered the supposedly most reliable weapon in any arsenal.. your experiment suggests it's better not to take any treatment for granted... not in hair loss anyway. Might look into better off-brand supplies in the future myself to compare their sufficiency.

 

[20YearsOnFin]

Currently on accord but have never tried propecia due to cost

Yes I agree, Propecia is too expensive. Im only comparing Generic vs Generic or Generic vs Proscar as they are all in a similar price bracket. In the UK Proscar can be brought for £60 compared to Propecia around £400, so the uk Proscar price is comparable to the price of Indian Generics.

 

[thetdog666]

Yep propecia is too expensive. Im only comparing Generic vs Generic or Generic vs Proscar as they are all in a similar price bracket. I don't know the US prices but in the UK Proscar is £60 compared to Propecia over £400, the uk Proscar price is comparable to the price of Indian Generics.

Where are you sourcing proscar in the uk?

 

[20YearsOnFin]

Where are you sourcing proscar in the uk?

Just from any pharmacy.......(needs a private prescription )

 

[jazz1]

Awesome this is TRUE as I helped many people and read over the years when people switched brands they lost hair,

Thanks for confirming.

 

[thetdog666]

Just from any pharmacy.......(needs a private prescription )

I can only source aideem or accord. What pharamcy is giving out proscar?

 

[NickyA]

In the EU and the US generics have to be as effective as the original med since the laws are pretty tight and there are very capable organizations (Such as the FDA) that supervise the tests and studies and won't allow a subpar generic to be sold on the market.

That said, things aren't the same in other countries and regions, where generic laws are laxer, so maybe that's why you experienced subpar results with some indian generics. Excipients and even dosage may vary and this can affect efficiency. I know for a fact that there's a generic brand of Finasteride in my country that gives subpar results for a lot of people.

 

[20YearsOnFin]

In the EU and the US generics have to be as effective as the original med

Kind of true, But that's not exactly how its worded, the actual explanation they use is ''the absence of a significant difference'' (bioequivalence)
So they acknowledge there is difference but the idea is if you can keep that difference at a allowable amount, the assumption is the drug will be Just as effective and patient's are not meant to be able to notice this difference.

if you at look the graph on this study I posted above you can see an example of what no ''significant difference'', looks like
the results are kept nice and close, but a difference is still observed, who is to say if a 1000 people make the switch, that nobody will be sensitive to some of these variations?

http://www.thaiscience.info/journals/Article/CMMJ/10905023.pdf

The other thing to realize is the exact formulation of these drugs can be subject to change over a drugs production run lifetime, and unwittingly further variance's maybe introduced.

In the EU and the US generics have to be as effective as the original med since the laws are pretty tight and there are very capable organizations (Such as the FDA) that supervise the tests and studies and won't allow a subpar generic to be sold on the market.

This is the message they like the public to believe , but in reality if they do indeed find products or practices that are subpar, they only make recommendations to the manufactures that they need to improve, only after repeated warnings is something actually removed from the market

Can The FDA Adequately Police Generics?

As the federal government advocates increased use of generic drugs, concerns are mounting about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s oversight and the quality or effectiveness of some generics. In the last eight months, the FDA has acknowledged that two generic versions of the...

c-hit.org

“FDA is aware that there are reports noting that some people may experience an undesired effect when switching from a brand-name drug to a generic formulation or from one generic drug to another generic drug,” the agency states on its website. The FDA “is encouraging the generic industry to investigate whether, and under what circumstances, such problems occur.”

''The agency has fielded criticism about its lack of testing of generics and quality-control problems among manufacturers in India. the agency cited quality-control problems, fraud and manufacturing violations at facilities in India, where about 40 percent of America’s generic and over-the-counter drugs are manufactured.''

That said, things aren't the same in other countries and regions, where generic laws are laxer, so maybe that's why you experienced subpar results with some indian generics.

Yes that is 100% true, But I mean Indian generics purchased in the UK , the majority of the generic finasteride that is available in the US & UK is either made in India or the bulk ingredients are made in India, there are some exceptions, but if you do a search to see who owns the brand of generic finasteride, 9 times out of 10 you will see that the parent companies of these brands are Indian.

 

[20YearsOnFin]

I can only source aideem or accord. What pharamcy is giving out proscar?

If you try phoning a couple of near by High Street pharmacy's (Physical bricks & mortar shops) they should be able to order the Proscar in for you, they can't provide the prescription as well though so you will need to source that separately. (its also available online from pharmacy2u, but its generally cheaper and faster if you can order it locally)

 

[20YearsOnFin]

A incomplete List of some Finasteride Brands available in the US or UK that are either made in India or have Indian Parent companies:

Accord
Assend
Actavis Aideem
Aurobindo Pharma Limited
Burel Pharmaceuticals
Dr. Reddy's
Cadila Healthcare Limited
Camber
fincar (Cipla)
finpecia (Cipla)
Milpharm (Aurobindo)
Hetero Labs Limited
Rising Health, LLC
Relonchem
Thirty Madison Inc
Keeps
zy generics

 

[john1245]

I have started talking about this in another thread but have decided to move the topic here on its own.
This is purely my personal experience and I am not trying to prove anyone else is wrong or say all generics don't work.
This post is about the quality of Generic vs Generic and Generic vs Proscar worldwide (not just the US or EU). I have never taken Propecia so won't be commenting on that.

Generic 5mg finasteride UK PRICE £12-30/Year (predominantly made in India, but is also made in other locations, China, EU, SE Asia)
Proscar 5mg finasteride UK PRICE £55-60/Year (According to a US label finasteride made in Italy, Tablet assemble in Porto Rico, may have other locations)
Generic 1mg finasteride UK PRICE £120/Year (predominantly made in India, but is also made in other locations, China, EU, SE Asia)
(prices not including any prescription charge)

I have taken finasteride for the last 20 years approximately 8years of those on Proscar and 12 years on generic.

these are my results :

CIPLA FINCAR 5mg(Made In India): for all intents and purposes worked, but over a 7 year period the very front of my hairline became weaker/thinner......
ACTAVIS AIDEEM 1mg(Made In India): ineffective (Caused my hair to continually shed excessively/miniaturize)
ACCORD 1mg(Made In India): ineffective (Caused my hair to continually shed excessively/miniaturize)
PROSTACOM 5mg: ineffective(Caused my hair to continually shed excessively/miniaturize)
PROSTIDE 5mg: Worked
PROSCAR 5mg: Worked

(These results seam to be user specific as many people swear there is no difference)

In the early part of the 2000's there were only a few Generic finasteride brands(dr Reddy's, Cipla etc , since 2014 especially there now seams to be hundreds, its impossible for anyone to personally test all of them, but there are 4 questions that I have asked myself.

1)Are all of the 100-200 generics available created equally?
2)Are the generics 100% Identical to Proscar?
3)Does it matter?
and lastly....
4)If the price is approximately the same or cheaper is there anything else I own where I would rather buy an Indian made version over one that is made in the EU?

Here is the FDA's answer
Are generic drugs less effective?
No. Generic medications are just as effective as brand-name drugs. According to the FDA, drug makers must prove that generic medications can be substituted for brand-name drugs and offer the same benefits as their brand-name counterparts

Here Is a chemists answer:

5 Problems with Generics to Ponder

Generic drugs are cheap, effective, and FDA approved. So, what's the problem?

www.pharmacytimes.com

or

Why your generic drugs may not be safe and the FDA may be too lax

As drug prices soar, consumers look for cheaper generics. A recent study showed safety issues in some generics made abroad, however, suggesting that the FDA’s honor system may not be enough to ensure safety.

theconversation.com

Here is a doctors answer:

https://www.wolfhair.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Brand-Name-vs-Generic-Finasteride-Jan-Feb-2016.pdf

Here's a paper passing an generic 5mg on bioequivalence but does note its not 100% the same

http://www.thaiscience.info/journals/Article/CMMJ/10905023.pdf

My opinion:
In practice only 1 of the generics that I tried were able to match my results on Proscar, that's not to say generics don't work, but out of 100-200 generics available some of them were less effective or ineffective in my case.

As the last Proscar 5mg I brought was half the price of generic 1mg , I see no reason to swap back to generics again.

If you are on generics and they are working I'm not suggesting anyone should swap. but if you have recently swapped and felt a difference or the generics you are on are not working then this may well

Hi I have a few questions for you and I would be very greatfull I'd you replied!!
What age were you when u started finasteride ? And what is your situation like now after 20 years ? Have you managed to maintain ?
Thanks

 

[20YearsOnFin]

Hi I have a few questions for you and I would be very greatfull I'd you replied!!
What age were you when u started finasteride ? And what is your situation like now after 20 years ? Have you managed to maintain ?
Thanks

ok, no problem, I Started finasteride when I was around 23, my hairline thinned out a bit during the 7 years on Cipla fincar, and temporary diffuse thinned on top while I was taking the Accord, but on the whole my hair is still fairly close to how it looked when I first started.

 

[john1245]

ok, no problem, I Started finasteride when I was around 23, my hairline thinned out a bit during the 7 years on Cipla fincar, and temporary diffuse thinned on top while I was taking the Accord, but on the whole my hair is still fairly close to how it looked when I first started.

Thanks so much for the reply, I started at 22 and I have been on it for 2 years with good results, would you say you had aggressive loss when u started ? What Norwood were you?

 

[20YearsOnFin]

would you say you had aggressive loss when u started ? What Norwood were you?

No, fortunately i'm a very slow receder, so am probably a good candidate for being able to maintain, The Norwood scale is a bit hit and miss, I had a very V shaped hairline to begin with so was already getting the ominous ''Aren't You going bald'' type comments from relatives at age 16 before I had actually really lost anything. so maybe I was about 2 ish when I started and around 2-3 now. ( I had already started a kind of hair loss prevention regime by 17, prior to taking finasteride so that might have helped a bit )

 

[20YearsOnFin]

I have been on it for 2 years with good results,

I think that's one of keys to finasteride as a treatment, Is if its working and as long as your body can tolerate it, is just to take it and try forget about it. people who keep coming on or off it, or start changing their regimes up too often because ''nothings happening'' tend to loose ground as a result.

 

[bc1]

so what's the conclusion/ advice here? Should I switch from generic (Avianta) to propecia? UK based btw.