Editorial Policy

RXSAURUS EDITORIAL POLICY

Last Updated: March 1, 2026

RxSaurus is committed to providing accurate, transparent, and clinically useful drug equivalency information. This Editorial Policy describes how we source, process, and present drug data on the Site, and the standards we apply to ensure the quality and reliability of the information we provide.

Data Sourcing Methodology

All drug data displayed on RxSaurus is derived from publicly available U.S. government databases and regulatory sources. We do not create, fabricate, or editorialize drug equivalency data. Our primary data sources are:

U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) RxNorm — provides normalized drug names, ingredient relationships, and standardized clinical drug concepts (RxCUIs). RxNorm serves as the backbone of our drug identification and naming system.

FDA Orange Book (Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations) — provides therapeutic equivalence (TE) codes, NDA/ANDA numbers, and patent/exclusivity information. The Orange Book is the authoritative source for determining whether a generic drug is considered therapeutically equivalent to its reference listed drug.

OpenFDA — provides structured access to FDA regulatory data including drug labeling, adverse event reports, and National Drug Code (NDC) directory information.

DailyMed — provides FDA-approved drug labeling (Structured Product Labeling / SPL documents), including indications, dosage and administration, contraindications, warnings, adverse reactions, and drug interactions.

How Drug Data Is Obtained and Processed

Data Ingestion: RxSaurus periodically retrieves data from the above sources through their publicly available APIs and data downloads. Data is ingested in its original structured format and stored in our internal database.

Normalization: Drug names and identifiers are normalized using RxNorm RxCUIs to ensure consistency across data sources. This allows us to cross-reference information from the FDA Orange Book, DailyMed, and OpenFDA for the same drug product.

Equivalency Mapping: Drug equivalency relationships are established through a multi-layer process. Layer 1 (Exact Generic Equivalents) is derived directly from FDA Orange Book therapeutic equivalence evaluations — specifically AB-rated products. Layer 2 (Same-Ingredient Alternatives) is derived from RxNorm ingredient relationships and FDA product data. Layer 3 (Same-Class Therapeutic Alternatives) is derived from pharmacological class assignments including Established Pharmacologic Class (EPC), Mechanism of Action (MoA), and Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classifications. Layer 4 (Community-Reported Insurance Coverage) is derived from user-submitted data and is clearly distinguished from authoritative government data.

Quality Assurance: After data ingestion and processing, automated validation checks are performed to identify data inconsistencies, missing fields, and mapping errors. Flagged records are reviewed before publication.

Editorial Standards

RxSaurus adheres to the following editorial standards:

Accuracy: All drug data must be traceable to a specific authoritative source (NLM, FDA, or other U.S. government database). We do not publish drug information that cannot be verified against a primary source.

Transparency: Every drug equivalency relationship displayed on the Site includes the source from which the relationship was derived and the type of equivalency (exact, ingredient-based, or therapeutic class). Users can always see why two drugs are shown as related.

No Editorialization: RxSaurus does not add clinical opinions, subjective assessments, or comparative effectiveness judgments to drug data. We present the data as published by authoritative sources without editorial commentary. We do not rank drugs by preference, recommend one drug over another, or suggest that one drug is "better" than another.

Clear Labeling of User-Contributed Data: Insurance coverage and formulary data submitted by users is always clearly labeled as "User-Reported" or "Community Data" and is visually distinguished from government-sourced data. User-contributed data is never presented as verified or authoritative.

Timeliness: We strive to keep drug data current by regularly synchronizing with source databases. However, there may be a delay between when a source database is updated and when changes are reflected on RxSaurus.

Update Frequency

RxSaurus updates its drug data on a regular schedule:

RxNorm Data: Synchronized with each major RxNorm release (typically monthly, with weekly updates available).

FDA Orange Book Data: Updated when the FDA publishes new Orange Book data (the Orange Book is updated periodically by CDER).

OpenFDA Data: Retrieved periodically through the openFDA API. Update frequency depends on the specific dataset.

DailyMed Data: Retrieved periodically. DailyMed is updated daily by NLM with new and revised drug labeling.

User-Contributed Coverage Data: Displayed in real-time as submitted by users, subject to automated validation and manual review.

The "Last Updated" or "Last Reviewed" date shown on individual drug pages reflects the most recent date on which the data for that drug was verified or refreshed against source databases.

Corrections and Feedback

If you identify an error or inaccuracy in the drug data displayed on RxSaurus, we encourage you to report it. We take data accuracy seriously and will investigate all reported issues promptly.

To report a data issue: data@rxsaurus.com

Independence and Conflicts of Interest

RxSaurus does not accept funding, sponsorship, or editorial input from pharmaceutical companies, pharmacy benefit managers, insurance companies, or any entity with a commercial interest in influencing drug prescribing or formulary decisions. Our editorial content and data presentation are independent of any commercial interest.

If RxSaurus ever establishes commercial relationships (e.g., advertising, partnerships), those relationships will be fully disclosed and will not influence the drug data or equivalency information presented on the Site.

Medical Review

Drug data on RxSaurus is sourced from authoritative government databases and does not require individual clinical review for factual accuracy. However, we are assembling a Medical Advisory Board composed of licensed healthcare professionals who will provide guidance on data presentation, editorial standards, and the clinical context in which drug equivalency information is used. For more information, see our Medical Advisory Board page.

Contact

For questions about our editorial policy, data sourcing, or to report a data issue:

Email: editorial@rxsaurus.com Data Issues: data@rxsaurus.com