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 …
Before posting, please read our blog moderation guidelines. The comments below begin with the oldest comments first. Click on the last comments page to jump to the most recent comments.
Before posting, please read our blog moderation guidelines.
Post a Comment:
Copyright © 1995-2013 Psych Central. All rights reserved.
Site last updated: 23 May 2013
|
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 http://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!
You people have no idea how expensive it is to create a drug. Hundreds of millions of dollars. If you created something that cost that much, would you sell it at a price that would not allow you to cover your costs? Would you not patent it so other people can simply copy your formula and sell it cheaper (you did all the research and spent all the money and they would be allowed to reap the benefits).
Think things through before you make comments folks.
You must be high up in a drug company or did you not read how much the company already has made off of Lexapro. Yes it cost a lot to research and get the drug approved, but they have made there money back and probably millions more. At this point it is 2012 and I have not heard of a generic going on the market. So that just shows the people how GREEDY this company is. Also yes unfortunatly I HAVE to take Lexapro because every time I have tried slowing getting off of it I will be so sick I can’t function And I am talking that I have given it a month an I will still be sick. So non addictive is bull!!!!
Lexapro IS available in generic now. Got it filled last month.
What about Citalopram? It is supposed to be $61 cheaper.
How can any customer feel safe when the drugs
are made out side of the U.S. We do not trust
the USDA but have no choice in the matter. You
show a generic for plavix that is made in Iseral
and then shipped from India. Do you really
think I would even think of takeing it.
For those who suggest other, less expensive options, like Citalopram for instance; Lexapro is the only SSRI I’ve used that doesn’t cause sexual dysfunction. I’m already depressed – do I have to be impotent to feel better???
I have been on lexapro for over five years now. Tried three other meds before this and once since this, nothin else helps me without causing side effects that make me more crazy. I have horrible anxiety and have been paying full price for a year and half. Now with insurance, they still want over half the full price. Has anyone ordered from either of those places listed above? I would love to try the generic but is it safe, any reactions, did it ship correctly? Im curious.
Lexapro is my miracle drug as well. I have asked my physician for cheaper alternatives, but was unable to find anything that worked as well in treating my anxiety. I cannot go back life before Lexapro, so I will have to suck it up for another four years.
Hello, just happened in. Love that msn, very neat website. Thanks.
Sounds like we have a couple of drug company lobbyists in this comment string. I’ve heard all the drug company boo-hoo about how much it costs to produce and how they have to protect a drug for 25 years to recoup their investment. Baloney! If that were true why do they offer the same drugs overseas for pennies while charging those of us in the U.S. an arm and a leg?? Their answer: They charge us more because we can afford it while those overseas can’t! U.S. drug patents are a license to steal, plain and simple.
Citralopram is the generic for Celexa which is almost the same as Lexapro. Celexa is made by the same company as Lexapro and the generic shouldn’t cause sexual disfunction side effects. Lexapro works better for me, but I like the idea of taking a higher dose of Citralopram if the option is no Lexapro at all (or bankruptcy for me)
I was placed on a trial of Cymbalta for mild depression and Fibromyalgia and accompying depression pain. My pain level despite exercise runs quite high. On Cymbalta my pain was almost non existant and my mood lifted almost immediately. Problem was I could not sleep..big time insomnia. My physician changed me to Lexapro but it has to be processed through my mail order pharmacy and they are slow. So far nothing I have read about Lexapro mentions pain relief. Can anyone answer my question about pain relief?
Thank you.
I just called Canada Drugs and they have the generic…They told me it is available only in Canada and they can send them here. Also they carry the Brand name which is even cheaper than Drugstore.com. You can check on their website…Is there a chance that this is true?
I have worked for a pharma company and for those of you who do not know these companies receive grants from the government to begin research and produce new medication. They are unfairly allowed to patent a new drug for up to 25 years when they can recover their costs of research, development, and sales in just under 3 years while still making a 25 to 30 percent profit during that time. Any money that is made on the patented drug after 3 years is pure PROFIT. At any time after the company has recuipd its payout for R and D the company can ALLOW any other company to begin making a generic version. unfortunately they are more interested in profit than the consumer. I know this sucks and I also know the company lobiests in here are totally ticked right now but oh well its time the public actually new how the phar companies crap all over their biggest cash cow the US citizens.
thank you dana!! finally someone tells the TRUTH. i understand there are many drugs that have been awesome and life-savors to some. i do though completely disagree with there being a drug for “everything.” it’s driven by greed and money. and i guess WE pay for it with our tax dollars??
You can get lexapro at International Drug Mart also
A friend of mine started using a med called “xylorane” (Citalopram) made by Ranbaxy from mexico. He told me it was $4.99 for a box of 14 tabs (20mg). He cuts them in half. So hes paying $5 for a months worth of this drug thats suppose to be equal to Lexapro.
I also take Lexapro but am going under paying for it. Would the xylorane tabs be equal to my Lexapro?
Thanks for the info and such on this topic.
I was given a bunch of samples from my doctor and when i went to get some my insurance company (Asuris) wont pay for them!! Bummer!! So thats why i”m here looking for a simular drug insted! 30 pills are 109 bucks I can’t aford that! Now that i’m hooked so to speek! the drug makers are not much better then drug dealers!! any help?
I’ve been ordering generic from http://progressiverx.com/index.html
for almost a year and it’s been wonderful. $40 for a 90day supply. I did my research, you should too, but this has saved me lots of $$$.
Thanks Holly! I’ll check it out!
Thanks again Holly! I went to my doctor yesterday and he gave me some citalopram that he says will be just like lexapro! I just started takeing it this morning, so well see! So far the best part is my insurance will pay for it! Good luck to all! James
I tried the citalopram after using Lexapro for one year. I switched because my insurance said it would be cheaper. Oh, it was but I paid the price in another way. After one week I had nausea, vomiting, cramping and diahrea for 2 weeks. They can take that citalopram and stick it. I am back to Lexapro.
I tried Lexapro a couple of years back, and it was a wonder drug for me. My thought, once stabalized, was this… I remember normal. And that felt great. Then my samples ran out and I found out, even after my insurance contribution, what it would cost me, and I had to drop it. I need to get help. I’ve tried to pretend for too long that I’m fine. Two questions. Is it safe to get drugs from Canada? Is a perscription from a doctor then necessary? Thanks.
You can get citalopram at Walmart
$10 for 90 day supply.
Didn’t work for me,now back on Lexapro.
Many health plans have pill-splitting programs to save them and you money. Even if you don’t have insurance, this is a way to save money on certain drugs.
Ask your doctor to prescribe a higher dose of Lexapro and then split the pills, so you’ll be getting a two-months’ supply out of 30 tablets, but still only paying for 30 tablets.
In other words, if you take a 10mg dose, ask your doctor for a prescription for a 20 mg dose, then split the pills (they’re scored, which makes it easier) and take half a pill each day. You’re still getting your daily 10 mg dose.
I will be so happy with the generic is available. I currenlty do not have rx coverage and this gets quite costly on a monthly basis. I have tried other medications and lexapro is the only one that works for me. Come on 2012!!!
Is there a generic out now for Lexapro. If so what generic name do I ask for ?
Занятно написано! Надобыотметить на БобрДобр.
Thanks for all the info! Lexapro has been the only effective antidepressive
med for the last several months. I have
tried just about everyone and am concerned that within the near future,
my co-pay will go up alot.
Lord. I hope this is true. Lexapro works great for me but I can’t afford it and my anxiety is getting the better of me.
I’ve been getting Lexapro from an online pharmacy.
It’s shipped from India. I hate having to do this, as I fear that it’s not safe, but I can’t afford to buy Lexapro from a pharmacy here and Lexapro is the only thing that works. Lexapro is a life safer and has improved my life emmensely.
After reading this article, I feel better about getting it from another country. The generic has already been approved by the FDA, it’s because of the patent that Forest has, that we can’t buy it here. Most of the other generics we take come from India anyway, so why not buy Lexapro from there?!
Rhonda — What online pharmacy do you use? I have been thinking about ordering my Lexapro from Canada. But how can we be sure the pills we get are the correct ones? I know they can look exactly like them, but I am afraid I will be buying nothing more than placebos.
I’m desperately waiting for this generic to come out. My insurance plan does not really give me a lot of financial aid when buying Lexapro. The cost is ginormous.
Hi everyone. I have been taking Lexapro for post partum depression. It’s great. I feel wonderful and my sex drive exploded as well
I got samples from my Dr for 3 months but started ordering it from India. Arrived ok 2 weeks later and I still feel normal and not crying or being crazy weepy and irrational so I guess its legit but you know… it makes sense. Only the US has to follow the generics laws for a US patent. I got 2 months worth for less than $40 with shipping from qualitygenerics website. They also have 10% for returning customers
What is the India Email address?
Lexapro is too high here in the US
I started using Lexapro four years ago when a friend recommended it. I have, like many, used “everything else” and this is the only thing that works for me. About three years ago, my company changed insurance and the new insurance didn’t cover Lexapro, so I went without. BIG MISTAKE!
Thankfully, my new insurance covers it, but it’s the high end. The pharmacist at my local drugstore said that this is supposed to be coming out in generic next month. I don’t know for sure, but I’m hoping . . . Thanks for all the ideas, though. I think I will ask my doctor to put me on the 20mg and cut them in half – at least that will save a little bit. Take care and God bless!
I hate big pharma – bastards. Greedy pigs. It’s always about the money, never, NEVER about those who need treatment.