Fluoxetine is one of the most popular antidepressants, which is commonly prescribed to treat the symptoms of depression, bulimia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, and premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Fluoxetine is a member of the antidepressant family known as SSRI, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.



Antidepressant medicines act on nreve cells in the brain which contains numerous different chemical compounds called neurotransmittes. These act as chemical messengers between the nerve cells. Serotonin is one such transmitter and has various functions.

One of the brand names of fluoxetine is Prozac, but there have been continues debate on the difference between fluoxetine and Prozac. Is there really a difference?

Prozac capsules and liquid contain the active ingredient fluoxetine. Fluoxetine is also available without a brand name also called generic fluoxetine.

There have been several reports on the effectiveness of generic fluoxetine against Prozac. To date, there are more than 20 companies that have received approval or tentative approval for almost 50 generic fluoxetine products. The approval package data for these agents are not yet available. Some reports have suggested a clinical difference, but these claims have not yet been fully supported. There have not been any clinical trials comparing the efficacy of generic fluoxetine and Prozac. There are no evidences either that generic fluoxetine is less effective than Prozac, despite its increased attention from patients, clinicians, and pharmaceutical companies.

As for the difference between Prozac and fluoxetine, the FDA requires that they should contain the same active ingredient. The generic must shoe in a study that the amount of active ingredient be between 80 to 125 percent of the brand name product. As there are alomost 50 different generic products, the contents will most certainly vary. FDA required that the generic products contain the same actice ingredients as the brnd name product. However, the inactive ingredients used in the formulation, like in a pill or capsule, may be different. These active ingredients are sometimes called ?fillers? and may or may not affect how the medication works in the body.

Some clinicians have found that select patients require a higher dosage of generic fluoxetine than Prozac to control other symptoms, but several issues may contribute to these increased requirements. Research have shown that depression and depressive symptoms wax and wane, an increase in symptoms may be part of the course of illness rather than differences betweem brand and generic formulations.

Increased symptom may also reflect patient bias. The patient somehow knows he or ahe is taking a generic and may be more inclined to notice or report symptoms. Further, some patients who believe generics are less effective than brand-name equivalents experience a reverse placebo effect. Their thinking that a generic drug is inferior diminishes its effectiveness.

However, just as individuals vary, individual responses to the same medication may vary as well. Although a generic product is considered safe and effective, an individual may respond to a generic equivalent differently than he or she responds to the brand name product.