Trust me, all the name brand antidepressant meds are just as expensive. The active ingredient in Effexor is
Venlafaxine, which is avalible in a Generic, but it is not in the XR form. The XR is short for "extended release."
Only the Effexor has this time release form of Venlafaxine delivery. I have found this time release form to be much more effective than the generic Venlafaxine which has no such delivery system.