Same salt, same strength, same medicine
4 min read · updated 23 September 2026
Every medicine strip carries two names. The large one is the brand. The small one, usually underneath and often in a lighter weight, is the composition: the actual drug and how much of it there is.
The small one is the medicine. The large one is the marketing.
Reading a composition
A line like Metformin 500mg + Glimepiride 2mg says two things: which molecules
are in the tablet, and how much of each. Both halves matter.
- The molecule is what acts on your body. Metformin is metformin whoever makes it.
- The strength is the dose. 500mg and 1000mg of the same molecule are not interchangeable, and swapping them is a real mistake rather than a technicality.
Two products with identical molecules at identical strengths are, for practical purposes, the same medicine in different packaging.
Why the same drug has a dozen names
There is no rule that a molecule may be sold under one name. Once a patent expires, any qualified manufacturer can make it, and each gives their version a brand name. That is why a single composition can appear under fifteen brands at fifteen prices, all of them legitimate.
The prices vary because the marketing behind them varies, not because the tablets do.
When two products are not the same
Three cases are worth knowing, because we treat them differently on this site.
A strength mismatch. If one product has 500mg and the other 650mg, they are not substitutes. We show this as a near miss and label which strength differs. We never quietly present it as a match.
A combination mismatch. A tablet with two salts is not replaced by a tablet with one of them. A match here requires every salt to agree, not the first one.
A different release mechanism. Some tablets release the drug slowly over hours. A normal tablet of the same molecule and strength behaves differently. Where our data records this, we treat it as a different product.
The practical version
Find the composition line on your strip. Search it here, or search the brand name and read the two columns we put side by side. If both columns say the same thing, the medicines match. If they do not, we will say so rather than round it off.
And then ask your pharmacist, who can see the actual box.
Common questions
- What does composition mean on a medicine strip?
- The composition is the list of active salts and their strengths, printed in small type on the strip. Two products with the same salts at the same strengths in the same dosage form contain the same medicine, whatever the brand names on the front say.
- Can two medicines with different names be the same medicine?
- Yes, and it is common. A brand name is a trademark, not a description of what is inside. If the composition lines match salt for salt and strength for strength, the two products are interchangeable in the way that matters medically.
- What should I check before switching to a Jan Aushadhi medicine?
- Check that every salt matches, that every strength matches, and that the dosage form is the same - a slow-release tablet is not interchangeable with a plain one even at an identical strength. Then ask your pharmacist to confirm.
This is general information about medicine pricing, not medical advice. Never stop, start or switch a prescribed medicine without asking your doctor or pharmacist.