For years the arthritis relief medication Exenol has been available without a prescription. This year Parconin was introduced on the market, but, due to government regulations, the drug is available only by prescription. The makers of Parconin argue that it is unfair to restrict access to Parconin while allowing their competition’s product to be sold without restrictions, since the two drugs have the same active ingredient and Parconin’s other ingredients are harmless.
The answer to which of the following would be most useful in evaluating the argument of the Parconin executives?
A. Do the makers of Exenol
endorse the recent government regulations? - WRONG. Endorsement is irrelevant.
B. Do the two drugs contain the
same quantity of the active ingredient per recommended dose? - CORRECT. If dosage differ then one might be having only generic level of ingredient while may have higher level that may not be considered safe for generic selling.
C. Do
any other drugs have the same active ingredient as Parconin and Exenol? - WRONG. Out of scope.
D. Does Parconin
cost significantly more than Exenol? - WRONG. Cost is irrelevant.
E.
How many prescriptions are written for Parconin each month? - WRONG. Like C and D this too is irrelevant.
Simple question is why one drug is openly available while other's not. What might be the difference between the two that make their availablity not comparable?
Answer B.