The first generic version of Lexapro, one of the most widely prescribed antidepressants, with more than $2 billion in sales last year, received federal approval Monday.
Ivax Corp. of Miami, part of Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., becomes the first company cleared to make a generic version of the prescription drug, according to the Web site of the Food and Drug Administration. The agency approved 5, 10 and 20 milligram doses of the drug, also called escitalopram oxalate, for the treatment of major depression.
Lexapro, the brand-name version of the drug, is made by New York-based Forest Laboratories Inc. In 2005, Lexapro was the No. 2 antidepressant in the United States, behind Zoloft, with 29.6 million prescriptions filled, according to IMS Health, a prescription information provider. Lexapro’s U.S. sales last year were $2.1 billion.
Feb. 2007 Update
After reviewing the status of generic Lexapro, we discovered that the company that was trying to bring it to market, Teva, lost a patent fight with Lexapro’s maker, Forest Labs. To put this in perspective of how big a deal this was for Forest, in the 2nd quarter of 2006, Lexapro made up 60% of Forest’s revenues (according to this blog entry). Bloomberg News also carried the judge’s July 12 2006 ruling.
What this means is that although the FDA approved a generic formulation of Lexapro, a generic version of Lexapro is not coming to a store near you anytime soon. The Lexapro patent does not run out until 2012. Sorry!
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16 Responses to “Generic Lexapro Coming to Stores Near You!” (Pingbacks/trackbacks not shown below)
Tom Becker at 3:02 pm on
September 27th, 2006
Whan will generic Lexapro be available to the buying public? My druggist has not heard of yet. Thank you.
karyn schuler at 9:15 pm on
December 12th, 2006
when will it be available??? My pharmacist said it isnt yet himself
ren ferguson at 8:27 pm on
January 18th, 2007
please someone…does anyone know when this generic will be available? thanks
joanne at 7:24 pm on
January 29th, 2007
According to my pharmacist, it won’t be available for quite a while. Let’s hope it’s not too long!
lori at 3:48 pm on
April 20th, 2007
once again the drug companys rape those who are sick and cannot afford the high price of meds and are not willing to produce a more economical version so there pocket get fuller.
Stanley Goldstein at 11:27 pm on
October 7th, 2007
Generic Lexapro (Escitalopram Oxalate) is available at www.ProgressiveRx.com. The drug is manufactured by Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd. somewhere outside the US and is shipped from a mail order pharmacy in India. Price per 20mg tablet is 62¢. Price per 20 mg tablet at Costco is $2.85.
Lisa at 9:28 am on
November 23rd, 2007
Not available until 2012? That IS depressing. I may have to up my does.
april at 6:09 pm on
December 30th, 2007
Thank you to the gentleman Stanley Goldstein for that very useful advice! I went to progressiverx.com and sure enough, lexapro was considerably less expensive. What a wonderful discovery for those that do not have health insurance! Thank you so much!
Cole at 12:56 pm on
May 6th, 2008
Raping the public?? — cause they want to recoup their investment?? Give the drug companies exclusive rights for 25 years and they can lower their prices!
taryn at 2:55 pm on
May 6th, 2008
it is now avail at your pharmacy
mary k at 5:43 pm on
May 11th, 2008
Another drug company ripoff, while they make millions!!
pam at 9:25 pm on
May 19th, 2008
this is the only med to work for me. i am terrified, who the hell can afford it over the counter? the others didn’t work.
the dr. is OUT Of samples.
i take meds to manage anxiety and now i have anxiety cuz i can’t have the meds. 2012??
Carol at 11:25 am on
June 18th, 2008
An online site says Paxil and Prozac are inexpensive substitutes.
My mother is on Lexapro. She’s reaching the “donut hole” in her Medicare prescription drug Part D. and will have to pay full price.
I’m going to ask the dr. to try Paxil or Prozac.
Jennifer at 1:08 pm on
July 3rd, 2008
Do these people read? My pharmacist laughed at me when I asked him about it a while ago. Find something for now and wait until 2012 and see if those jerks will allow it to be made. Long time but there are plenty of inexpensive SSRI’s out there. Lexapro was the best for me too but for now I take 40mg of Citalopram. Good luck to you all.
Jennifer at 1:08 pm on
July 3rd, 2008
My pharmacist laughed at me when I asked him about it a while ago. Find something for now and wait until 2012 and see if those jerks will allow it to be made. Long time but there are plenty of inexpensive SSRI’s out there. Lexapro was the best for me too but for now I take 40mg of Citalopram. Good luck to you all.
Lynne at 11:46 am on
July 12th, 2008
You can purchase the generic version thru Canada Drugs.com for half the price!
Be a Part of the Conversation! Comment on this Entry Now:
Whan will generic Lexapro be available to the buying public? My druggist has not heard of yet. Thank you.
when will it be available??? My pharmacist said it isnt yet himself
please someone…does anyone know when this generic will be available? thanks
According to my pharmacist, it won’t be available for quite a while. Let’s hope it’s not too long!
once again the drug companys rape those who are sick and cannot afford the high price of meds and are not willing to produce a more economical version so there pocket get fuller.
Generic Lexapro (Escitalopram Oxalate) is available at www.ProgressiveRx.com. The drug is manufactured by Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd. somewhere outside the US and is shipped from a mail order pharmacy in India. Price per 20mg tablet is 62¢. Price per 20 mg tablet at Costco is $2.85.
Not available until 2012? That IS depressing. I may have to up my does.
Thank you to the gentleman Stanley Goldstein for that very useful advice! I went to progressiverx.com and sure enough, lexapro was considerably less expensive. What a wonderful discovery for those that do not have health insurance! Thank you so much!
Raping the public?? — cause they want to recoup their investment?? Give the drug companies exclusive rights for 25 years and they can lower their prices!
it is now avail at your pharmacy
Another drug company ripoff, while they make millions!!
this is the only med to work for me. i am terrified, who the hell can afford it over the counter? the others didn’t work.
the dr. is OUT Of samples.
i take meds to manage anxiety and now i have anxiety cuz i can’t have the meds. 2012??
An online site says Paxil and Prozac are inexpensive substitutes.
My mother is on Lexapro. She’s reaching the “donut hole” in her Medicare prescription drug Part D. and will have to pay full price.
I’m going to ask the dr. to try Paxil or Prozac.
Do these people read? My pharmacist laughed at me when I asked him about it a while ago. Find something for now and wait until 2012 and see if those jerks will allow it to be made. Long time but there are plenty of inexpensive SSRI’s out there. Lexapro was the best for me too but for now I take 40mg of Citalopram. Good luck to you all.
My pharmacist laughed at me when I asked him about it a while ago. Find something for now and wait until 2012 and see if those jerks will allow it to be made. Long time but there are plenty of inexpensive SSRI’s out there. Lexapro was the best for me too but for now I take 40mg of Citalopram. Good luck to you all.
You can purchase the generic version thru Canada Drugs.com for half the price!
