An even playing field please.

I admit to being a little confused here. Why aren't manufacturers of generic drugs held to the same standards of the patent manufacturers and vice versa? This is a tad confusing.

There are lawsuits out there about side effects from generic drugs which are being heard in the Supreme Court.

Basically a generic is the same as the original medication. Federal law requires generic drug makers to provide identical ingredients, warnings, and labels as brand-name products.

If generics make up 80% of the drugs sold in the US, they should have the same accountability standards as the original manufacturer. And any side effects are therefore more likely to occur to the generic manufacturers.

"Drug companies have long asserted various doctrines of pre-emption, saying they are protected from most product-liability claims if they have met federal safety approval standards."

[This is a load of crap in my opinion. No one is above the law.]

"They argue that federal regulatory judgments trump state consumer safety laws, which are often tougher than Washington's standards.

But the high court had given a big victory to patients and consumer rights groups in 2009 when it ruled in favor of plaintiff who sued Wyeth -- now owned by Pfizer -- after losing an arm to gangrene from a common, brand-name anti-nausea prescription medication. She had won a $7 million judgment from a Vermont jury for her claims."

[About time.]

"Then last year, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that generic drug companies do not share the same level of responsibility as makers of brand-name equivalents, to update their warning labels when significant new risks emerge."

[Seriously?]

Its time to even the playing field here.