1) Why would Watson manufacture both brand-name Norco and a generic replica? Elementary. (Sorry, couldn't resist.

) There's a market for brand-name Norco, despite the higher price, and Watson would be foolish not to meet this demand, especially given the profit margin.

Yet, most patients are going to buy generics. Why? First, most docs seem to write scripts "may substitute," and the pharmacy will fill such scripts with a generic if possible. (In some states, they are legally required to do so, probably to discourage resale of the drugs on the street. It's much easier for a dealer to sell a pill stamped "VICODIN" than one with a cryptic alphanumeric code.) Second, most insurance plans provide a financial incentive for patients to use generics. Third, many folks want to buy their meds as inexpensively as possible.

The market for generic Norco is big. In fact, it's bigger than the market for the brand-name product. So naturally, Watson wants a piece of the action.

Watson gets to have it both ways. They can be the exclusive manufacturer of brand-name Norco, because that name is their registered trademark. And they also get to make money by meeting some of the demand for the generic equivalent.

Of course, as another poster pointed out, Watson isn't going to volunteer that their generic is identical to their brand-name Norco. They'll gladly sell brand-name Norco to those willing to pay for just that: a brand name.

2) Your chemist and compounding pharmacy seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding of how generic drugs become available. It's not a matter of changing the binder and other inactive ingredients to get around a patent--that won't work. Rather, generics become available when the brand-name's patent expires.

Let's take Cialis as an example. Can Acme Pharmaceuticals make a generic equivalent by using a different binder and other inactive ingredients with tadalafil? No--that's still patent infringement. Rather, Acme will wait until the patent on Cialis expires, at which point they can make their own generic tadalafil tablets.

3) I'm sure that for some folks, different binders and other differences between generics and brand-name drugs may make a meaningful difference. I still submit, though, that for the majority of folks, it's all in their heads. Consider: how come we never see posts saying something like, "Barr's generic diazepam works better for me than Roche's brand-name Valium"? Whenever a preference is expressed, it's always for the brand-name product.