FDA Says Generic Version of Wellbutrin Safe and Effective

The FDA, on receiving reports that generic forms of the antidepressant Wellbutrin XL (bupropion) are less effective, has reviewed the evidence and concluded that the generic is bioequivalent and therapeutically equivalent to the brand-name version.

Pharmacokinetic studies, the FDA says, "do not support a conclusion that the reported lack of antidepressant effect and new onset side effects are the result of differences between the two products." More likely at fault, the agency says, is the recurrent nature of depression, even among those under treatment.