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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved generic everolimus tablets for the treatment of patients with various advanced cancers, including renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Afinitor comes off patent over the next 5 years, after which generic everolimus will become available at a vastly cheaper cost to the NHS.
A generic drug is a pharmaceutical drug that contains the same chemical substance as a drug that was originally protected by chemical patents. Generic drugs are allowed for sale after the patents on the original drugs expire. Because the active chemical substance is the same, the effectiveness of generics is believed to be equivalent to that of the original drug. A generic drug has the same active pharmaceutical ingredient as the original, but it may differ in some characteristics such as the manufacturing process, formulation, excipients, colour, taste, and packaging.
