Logical Reasoning

PT105 · S1 · Q7 Generic drugs contain exactly the

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Generic drugs contain exactly the same active ingredients as their brand-name counterparts, but usually cost much less to develop, produce, and market.

Correct (So)

Generic drugs are just as effective as their brand-name counterparts, but cost way less.

Evidence

Generic drugs contain exactly the same active ingredients as their brand-name counterparts, but cost less to develop, produce, and market.

Evaluate

The author seems to be making a move from

What could challenge that move? How could things have the same active ingredients, but differ in efficacy?

- It never says they have the same amount of active ingredients. It sounds more like it's just the same type. So maybe generic drugs are less effective because they have a smaller amount of active ingredients.

- What about inactive ingredients? Do those affect efficacy? Maybe generic drugs are less effective because their inactive ingredients aren't as good?

- What about the recipe? I might bake a cake using the same ingredients as you, but if I combine my ingredients in the wrong proportions, it could come out bad.

- What about the delivery system? Maybe they have the same ingredients, but being consumed in capsule vs. gel-cap vs. powder vs. liquid has some effect on efficacy.

Goal

Look for an answer strengthening the missing link between "same active ingredients --> same efficacy" or look for an answer ruling out any of these objections:

Which one of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument?

The ingredients used in the
Unrelated to Goal: cost of ingredients
This has nothing to do with the efficacy of generic vs. brand name, because it's only talking about cost.
20% picked this
Correct
Generic drugs are no more
Why this is right
If we negated this, it would be an objection: generic drugs are more likely to suffer from defects in composition. This is getting at whether generic drugs combine these identical active ingredients successfully using the same type of recipe. Baking a successful cake is more than just having the right ingredients. You have to combine them in the right way to get an effective cake. Similarly, which chemistry, you might need to combine the active ingredients in the right way to create the desired chemical reaction. If generic drugs were worse at doing so, it could decrease their efficacy relative to that of brand name drugs. By ruling out that objection and equalizing generic drugs and brand-name drugs on this relevant level, this is strengthening the argument.
Skill tested: Strengthen · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.
67% picked this
Generic drugs are just as
Unrelated to Goal: availability
This has nothing to do with the efficacy of generic vs. brand name, because it's only talking about how available they each are.
5% picked this
The higher costs of brand-name
Unrelated to Goal
Unrelated to Goal: reason for higher cost This has nothing to do with the efficacy of generic vs. brand name, because it's only talking about the backstory of why brand-name drugs cost more (and the reason why -- investment in research -- doesn't have a direct connection to efficacy). If anything, we might take this answer and think, "If the brand-name drugs are spending more money on research, they might end up with better efficacy", which would weaken.
5% picked this
Because of advertising, doctors frequently
No Impact
The first few words here, "because of advertising", inform us that what doctors are doing here has nothing to do with efficacy, just with name familiarity.
3% picked this

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