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Imitrex Now off Patent - Non-Brand Name Forms now Available

November 24th, 2008

Imitrex - the trade name of the drug sumatriptan by GlaxoSmithkline - is at long last out in generic form. Imitrex was the first of the triptan class of drugs to be released, and is therefore the first to be coming off patent. When Imitrex came out about 15 years ago it revolutionized treatment of acute Migraine attacks. Triptans work not as pain-killers but work directly to abort the neurological process involved in a Migraine attack. Although they are contra-indicated for some Migraineurs, particularly those with cardiac-related problems, they are tolerated by most, and make it possible to greatly limit the impact of a Migraine attack.

Kerrie at the Daily Headache reported last week that injectable sumatriptan is now available in a generic form, and the Wall Street Journal announced today that Dr. Reddys Laboratories has launched the generic version of sumatriptan tablets. This is great news for Migraineurs - Imitrex has been one of the more expensive triptans on the market, retailing for anywhere from $15 - $25 per pill. Many Migraineurs, myself included, have found ourselves in ongoing struggles with our insurance companies, which limit us to 4 (or 2, or 6) pills per month, forcing us to choose which Migraines to treat and which to suffer through. I am still fighting for reimbursement of over $200 for Imitrex that was prescribed, and which the insurance company said they would pay for and didn’t. But that’s just another health insurance headache story.

- Megan

Tags: generic drugs, GlaxoSmithkline, imitrex, Migraine attack, The Daily Headache, triptans, Wall Street Journal
Posted in Current Affairs, Medicine | Comments (3)

3 Responses to “Imitrex Now off Patent - Non-Brand Name Forms now Available”

1. Doc Shazam Says:
   December 14th, 2008 at 12:40 am

   Please see my recent post on Generic Imitrex. It was ineffective for me, gave me wierd side effects without treating the headache pain. I immediately called in for an override to get Imitrex issued for me 3 days later.

   I would hope that others have better success with it, but was told by the pharmacist that the cost for the generic without insurance was still $200

2. admin Says:
   December 14th, 2008 at 10:28 am

   Thanks for letting us know about your experiences, Doc. Your description of the side effects you got from the generic sumatriptan sounds a lot like the ones I often get from the brand-name, and the brand-name ones are effective for me only about 60% of the time - so I will also give them a try and report back. It always amazes me how individual our responses to medications can be! Thanks for the comment.
   - Megan

3. admin Says:
   December 30th, 2008 at 10:50 pm

   Apparently if you blog about a generic form of a drug you show up in some kind of spammers’ search heaven - this post has been garnering multiple spam comments daily! I think it is important information and I’m not going to pull it - I changed the title to see if that makes any difference!

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