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For Prozac Users - Generic soon available!From: Bubba (anonymous@obgyn.net)Tue, 7 Aug 2001 11:44:27 -0500 (CDT)
Here is some exciting news I received at work today, thought I would share... To sum it up, the FDA passed a ruling on 8/2/01 that a generic version of Prozac can be sold, and 5 companies will be releasing it to pharmacies, probably sometime this week. This will save everyone a lot of money, especially those without insurance and those whose insurances charge a lot more for brand-name drugs. Friendly Advice: Take a look at your prescription drug plan if you are currently taking Prozac. Some plans charge more for a brand name when there is a generic available - Prozac falls into this category now. You'll want to budget for that extra expense, call your doctor to get a change to your prescription, or ask your pharmicist what you need to do to get the generic instead. FYI, Bubba Cost IMPACT Analysis: New Generic SSRI-- Fluoxetine BACKGROUND: During the past decade, the increased use of a type of antidepressant drug family known as SSRI’s (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) have contributed heavily to the rapidly rising cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. SSRI’s were introduced in the late 1980’s with the introduction of ProzacÒ onto the U.S. market, and this therapeutic category also includes PaxilÒ, ZoloftÒ, LuvoxÒ, and CelexaÒ. Prior to SSRI’s being introduced, patients with depression were normally treated with a class of antidepressant drugs known as Tricyclic Antidepressants (TCA’s). SSRI’s have an advantage over TCA’s in their onset of action and also have lesser side effects. Although TCA’s are still an effective therapy for depression, because of the longer onset of action (TCA’s can take up to 21 days before the patient begins to feel better) and more side effects (drowsiness, dryness, stimulation) the entire industry has moved to SSRI’s as the first-line therapy for depression. The disadvantage with SSRI’s is that they are tremendously more expensive than TCA’s. IMPACT: SSRI’s accounted for over 3.5% of the total prescription count of RESTAT’s book of business in June 2001, and over 6.34% of the total dollars. Therefore, SSRI’s are nearly twice as expensive as the average prescription in RESTAT’s book of business. The average SSRI prescription claim total to the client and member totaled $91.77 versus $10.22 for the average TCA. On August 2, 2001, five drug manufacturers were given the exclusive rights to manufacture fluoxetine, the lower-cost generic drug for ProzacÒ. This is one of the first opportunities for clients and members to contain their cost in this important therapeutic category. ACTION: Effective August 15, 2001, RESTAT will begin to treat ProzacÒ as a multi-source brand medication (meaning generic version available). This change in status will only effect members that elect to continue to use ProzacÒ by typically requiring a higher copay, based on their specific plan design. Members that choose the generic version of fluoxetine will be charged the standard generic copay. For plans with 3-tier copay structures ProzacÒ will now be a third tier item. Although all pharmacies may not have this product in stock at this date, we anticipate that all pharmacies will be stocking this generic within the next several days.
-- "How much you get out of life depends on how much you get in to life" - Ziggy!
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