Generic drugs are safe, effective chemical equivalents to name- brand drugs, but cost much less. Generic drugs are only approved by the FDA after it is satisfied that they are safe and therapeutically equivalent to their name-brand versions.

As part of our mission to bring a better quality of life to more people, Walmart is committed to lowering health-care costs by expanding the availability of low cost generic drugs.

Generic drugs (generics for short) are medications that contain the same active ingredients in the same concentrations as their name-brand equivalents but are sold under their chemical names. Generics are usually made available after the patents expire on the name-brand drugs that treat the same conditions.

Yes, they are as therapeutically effective as their name-brand equivalents. This is certified by the FDA before the generic drugs are approved for sale, so you can be assured that the drugs are safe as well as effective.

Yes. The FDA requires that generic drugs have the same active ingredients with the same strength, purity and stability as name-brand equivalents. Note that these are prescription medications, and that both generics and their name-brand equivalents have possible risks and side effects, and should be used only for their intended purpose and with the guidance of a licensed physician.

The makers of brand-name drugs incur high costs from the research and development phases of creating new drugs. Marketing these new drugs is also expensive. Subsequently, these new drugs are priced high so the company can recover its costs. Generic drugs are usually created and marketed after the patent on the name-brand runs out. Other companies are able to use the patent information and release their generic drugs with much lower research and development costs, so the price for consumers is much lower.