1.   But it will lose the patent protection on Zantac in the coming years and faces increasing competition from low-cost generic alternatives.

2.   Quick said the inclusion on the essential drug list may help lower the price of the antiretroviral medicines by increasing competition and may encourage the development of generic alternatives.

3.   The drug companies consider generic alternatives a violation of their intellectual property.

4.   The FDA in May refused to approve the Duramed product as a generic alternative to Premarin.

5.   The pharmacists, for example, encourage doctors to use generic alternatives whenever possible.

6.   The same companies that would make generic copies of Cipro also produce the generic alternatives, doxycycline and penicillin.

7.   They buy cheaper generic alternatives and dress them up as more expensive brand-name drugs.

8.   So this year the company published the first PDR Generics, combining prescribing and price information on virtually every brand name prescription drug and its less expensive generic alternatives.