News & Features

April, 2007

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Generic Plavix will be hard to find.

The supply of clopidogrel (generic Plavix) is reported almost entirely gone after Apotex flooded the market with the product during a three week period in August, 2006. In an unprecedented move, Apotex launched the product in early August when the Federal Trade Commission failed to approve an agreement that had been reached between the company, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Sanofiaventis to delay a generic launch until 2011. Apotex received FDA approval for generic clopidogrel in January 2006 with 180 days of market exclusivity. After the launch, BMS and Sanofi resolved their legal differences and then filed for an injunction against Apotex, asking the courts to stop the firm from continuing to sell clopidogrel. The courts granted relief on August 3l, and further appeals by Apotex have failed. The bottom line is that very soon, those patients currently taking generic clopidogrel may have to be switched back to the brand Plavix, with the accompanying increase in price, and in many cases, refusal of the insurance companies to pay for it. We will do whatever is possible to obtain continuing insurance coverage for brand Plavix, but in the end, it may take the letters and phone calls to the insurance companies from the many consumers that will have been financially affected by this decision.

Cough and cold medicines linked to infant deaths.

Caution is being urged when administering cough and cold medications to infants younger than two years of age. The Centers for Disease Control has reported that three infants, ages one to six months, were found dead in their homes. Medical examiners found two of the infants had evidence of respiratory infection. All three had what appeared to be high levels of pseudoephedrine (a decongestant that has since been removed from self-service areas) in blood samples, and two of the infants had detectable levels of dextromethorphan (the "DM" in Robitussin DM) and acetaminophen (Tylenol). Two of the infants had received either an over-the-counter drug or a prescription product, and the third had received both. We urge you to check with your pharmacist before treating cough and cold symptoms in infants or children less than two years of age, especially with regard to over-the-counter drugs.

New treatments for diabetes.

Due to clinical and patient's acceptance of the drug Byetta, new agents for treating diabetes are providing clinicians with new ways to counter the diabetes epidemic. The new drug Januvia has been approved for treatment, and the new inhaled form of insulin, Exubera has made its debut. Diabetes remains incurable, although massive efforts are underway to find a permanent cure. In the meantime treating this disease has become more effective and much more patient friendly. Ask your physician if any of the new treatments would be appropriate for you.

FDA says pills can cause "sleep driving".

All prescription sleeping pills may sometimes cause sleep-driving according to Federal health officials. This bizarre side-effect was made public almost a year after Rep. Patrick Kennedy crashed his car after taking Ambien. It's a more complicated version of sleep-walking, but behind the wheel of a car. It involves getting up in the middle of the night and going for a drive-with no memory of doing so. There have been more than a dozen reports, but officials fear that many more incidents are going unreported. Fortunately, given the fact that millions of insomnia drugs are prescribed, this is still considered a rare, but potentially dangerous side-effect. Doctors will soon begin getting letters notifying them of the new warnings, and soon special brochures called "Medication Guides" will accompany your prescription from the pharmacy.

Don't get too comfortable with Medicare Part D.

Medicare's prescription-drug program may be the most financially irresponsible U.S. legislation passed in 40 years, says the U.S. comptroller general David Walker. Barring vast program and healthcare reforms, the prescription bill will bankrupt the United States he said in a "60 Minute" segment last week. We can't afford to keep the promises we've already made, much less to be piling on top of them he said.

The pharmacists and staff at M.D. Pharmacy, your neighborhood pharmacy.

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