Generic Oxycodone: An Overview
Oxycodone hydrochloride is an active ingredient in many different prescription pain medications. It is available in short-acting products, long-acting products, and combination products. Many, but not all,
oxycodone medications are available in generic form.
Generic Availability of Oxycodone
Almost all of the medications that contain just oxycodone (including short- and long-acting oxycodone medications) are available in generic form. The combination medications that contain aspirin or
ibuprofen are also available in generic form. Most, but not all, combination medications with
acetaminophen are available in generic form.
Sometimes, it can be difficult to know if you are getting a brand-name or generic medication, especially with some combination oxycodone products. For instance, some generic manufacturers have chosen to give their generic products a "brand" name, instead of the usual generic name (this naming does not affect the medications' status as generics; they are still generic drugs).
To make matters more complicated, some of the available oxycodone products are not technically FDA-approved, as they were "grandfathered" because they were available before the current laws and regulations were in place. Because the FDA determines which products are generically equivalent to each other, there is technically no way to know if such products are really equivalent. The grandfathered oxycodone products include the capsules, oral solution, and oral concentrate.
(For a complete list of available oxycodone products, including combination products, brand-name products, and generic products, please see How Is Oxycodone Supplied?.)
