Are Generic Drugs the Same as Name Brand?

Creative commons photo by Katy Warner

On a recent plane trip, I had an interesting conversation with a quality control specialist for a generic drug company. He was a friendly man, and he opened up to me about the quality of generic drugs. 

During the conversation, he said that generic drugs are not as good as their name brand counterparts. He said that generic companies have about 10% flexibility with their ingredients, and that it's always best to purchase name brand drugs. He also said he's visited his company's factory in China which creates generic drugs, and that the factory is in a highly polluted part of China. In fact, upon returning home from this weekend trip to China, he was coughing up black mucous for a few days.

I was surprised to hear him say all of this, simply because I've always heard that generic brand quality is the same as name brand quality. However, he said that this is just false advertising done by generic drug companies, such as the one that he works at. 

What are your thoughts and experiences with generic drugs?