Pretty Pretty Prozac

mtbat · #1 01-03-2002, 07:42 PM

http://health.medscape.com/cx/viewarticle/405472_1

this article looks at how the makers of Prozac are attempting to keep their proffits high when the generics start hitting the market.

I think there are several issues here. First-PMDD affects very very few women-okay PMS affects a lot of us, but can be delt with without drugs like prozac.

Second-classifying it as a "mental Illness" now My husband might say that PMS is a mental Illness-but is it? and are the makers of Prozac creating a stigma by saying women with sever PMS are mentaly ill?

Third-Generics-they always say a generic is just as good-I've found it rarely is true. Albuterol for example-I cannot tolerate the generic forms-they make me shakey and sick-I have to have Proventinol-which is more expensive, but it works-now the generic Albuterol would save my life in a pinch, but I'd rather not have to use it. The thought of Generic Prozac scares me.

Fridai

#2 01-03-2002, 08:08 PM

Actually...

I work at said drug company (Eli Lilly) and the patent for Prozac expired last year. Whoever wrote the article might want to check their facts out

. If memory serves me, generic Prozac hit the market in September/October 2001.

And let me tell you, this particular drug is just a BLIP on the Eli Lilly screen. They have other drugs that they are aggressively marketing - Xigris, Zyprexa, Gemzar, Evista, and Humilin.

They have three additional drugs that are supposed to be launched next year.

But I digress

......

First, PMS is a serious problem and for many years, lots of people denied its existence. I believe that in some cases, it may need to be treated by medication, in other cases, a change in diet, and in some other cases it's just a slight annoyance much like the common cold is.

Second, Lilly didn't classify it as a mental illness, it's those dern DSM people that did. Whenever a new drug is created, the FDA, of course, requires that it be tied to the diagnosis of some "known" disease. If that's the only place where it's documented, they really have no other choice but to do what they did.

Third, I TOTALLY agree with you on generics. We just had to switch insurance companies and they pretty much force us to take generic unless we want to pay full price for name brand drug. I took generic and it was like taking a sugar pill for me. I am back on the name brand - it's pricey, but worth it.

poseidon · #3 01-03-2002, 08:08 PM

Quote:

The thought of Generic Prozac scares me.

There are so many ways I could play with that statement, but I think I'll choose not to.

mtbat · #4 01-03-2002, 08:21 PM

Quote:

I work at said drug company (Eli Lilly) and the patent for Prozac expired last year. Whoever wrote the article might want to check their facts out . If memory serves me, generic Prozac hit the market in September/October 2001.

And let me tell you, this particular drug is just a BLIP on the Eli Lilly screen. They have other drugs that they are aggressively marketing - Xigris, Zyprexa, Gemzar, Evista, and Humilin.

They have three additional drugs that are supposed to be launched next year.

thank you for the information, that makes the article seem a lot less credible than before. interesting too. I agree that PMS can be very very serious, but I do think that those adds make it seem like oh-you have PMS-take drugs and make it all better- the shopping cart add bothered me for a while before I read the article.

Quote:

There are so many ways I could play with that statement, but I think I'll choose not to.

I really left myself open there didn't I?

Fridai

kurt_messick · #5 01-04-2002, 01:36 PM

Prozac is so touchy to begin with in many cases, I'd be hesitant to accept a generic unless the generic was specifically prescribed. I do know some people who fare better on generics than the 'real thing' in a few other medications -- guess that just goes to show the differences.

Eli Lilly (whose related-but-independent Endowment supports much of our seminary's activities) did suffer somewhat as a result of the opening of Prozac to generic competitors (partly due to worriers who let the stock price sink because of fears that Lilly had nothing but Prozac), but Lilly was around long before Prozac and will continue long after, and continues as a vital and strong entity in the Indianapolis area.

roymeo · #6 01-14-2002, 06:32 PM

the PMS that's listed in the DSM isn't the "typical", or even "exceptionally bad" case of PMS, but that small percent of women (less than a percent, easily) who experience sever reactions to the hormones that their bodys create, and experience mood shifts that are extreme.

There are some few women out there that actually become dangerous to themselves and others (especially others in their care) due to the hormone fluctuations of their monthly cycle. This is what they are talking about....not 'heh, yeah, women are crazy when they're on the rag' you might hear from some bonehead.

roymeo