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2112931 tn?1335098402

Do any of the MS drugs come in generic form?

Do any of the MS fighting drugs like the interfons come in generic form?  My prescription plan from work provides formulary genetics as free and if I find out if I do have MS, I hope that I will have the free option.
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2112931 tn?1335098402
Sllowe, yes, thank you all.  This did help a great deal.  :)
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Avatar universal
did you try for copay assistance program for avonex?  they paid my prescription deductible.  I pay just 10.00 a month
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Avatar universal
speaking of out of pocket, stumbled onto a site today that offers assistance for Provigil for those without insurance........application is very simple (shock) and have filled out the papers and will let everyone know.  My insurance does not cover provigil so am going to take that as "not having any" and see what they say.

have you contacted Avonex to see if they offer assistance?
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Avatar universal
I have to pay out of pocket until I meet my $3000 deductible. One month of Avonex is $3100.

The problem is coming up with the cash for the out of pocket expenses.
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198419 tn?1360242356
Sandy! Hope this info helped!

Seems we took it a step further on your post - sorry about that!

But, to clarify  - there are not generics at this time, there are indeed differences in interferon, specifically in terms of strength, and type - i.e., beta 1b  - beta 1a, and method by which they work, i.e., sub-q vs IM. While it's not important to me why there are differences, I'm just glad there are since we are all different, and may respond to one at the higher dose, or to the other lower and IM, etc.


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2112931 tn?1335098402
I agree Mary. I do need to chill a bit and worry about it if or when I get dx'd. I'm freaking myself out to the point that my blood pressure was high on Thursday at my physical. It wasn't high before. I need to learn relaxation techniques. Ugh.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this conversation. It has been interesting to get this info.

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1045086 tn?1332126422
I couldn't begin to speculate about why a second branded inferferon-1b was brought to market.  Surely the pharmaceutical giants have all been well aware that more than one 'pill for MS' has been (as they say) in the pipeline.  I do suppose there are special bragging rights for being FIRST to step out.

I'm not aware of specific patent protection expirations on MS disease modifiers other than the one for Copaxone.  See MedTV about special considerations regarding the manufacture of generic versions of biologics.  http://multiple-sclerosis.emedtv.com/betaseron/generic-betaseron.html

Of note, this site states, "Betaseron is made by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals."  It also states, "Extavia is made by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Inc., for Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation."
Interesting.

I'm bowing out of this non-productive discussion now.  I don't see that it's helpful to anyone searching for current economical solutions.

Mary
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572651 tn?1530999357
As I understand it, Extavia was introduced by Novartis so they could get their foot in the door of MS pharmaceutical sales, gearing up for what they hoped would be their blockbuster, Gilenya.  While it is not a generic, I think it is a drug that is either close to coming out of  patent protection or the series of financial dealings made it a "cheaper" drug for Novartis to offer.  As if there is anything associated with MS that is cheaper.

There is so much about the financial end of these drugs that take twists and turns we need a score card  or a financial analyst to keep track.

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1045086 tn?1332126422
Extavia is interferon beta-1b and is actually clinically identical to its much older twin, Betaseron.  A series of buy outs, mergers and board room agreements apparently made it possible for TWO pharmaceutical companies to gain approval to offer branded interferon beta-1b.

At the grassroots level (that would be us - the users) there doesn't seem to be a clear cost advantage to either drug.  So much for competition driving down cost.  Perhaps motives and intentions led elsewhere?

So even without a generic, insurance providers are making decisions for some of us about which drug we're using - - and the deciding factor is usually who's giving the best discount.

I didn't look on extavia.com but I kind of doubt it says much about this.  Not that they should.  After all, it really IS good stuff for MS and they want to sell some.

I understand your investigative question Sandy but the person who said not to worry about this yet probably had the best take on the subject.  Worry about the cost of these drugs can strike a greater fear in us than the diagnosis itself.  That just ain't right!!!

Mary
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572651 tn?1530999357
the closest drug right now  to a generic version would be Extavia - Novartis' interferon.   You can find more information at their website   extavia.com

Generics aren't always what we think they should be in cost and/or efficacy, but are something we have to consider with  the rising costs of rx drugs in the U.S.

Great question!
Lu
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Avatar universal
apologies if I upset you, I said "respectfully" (grin)
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1981227 tn?1336328438
Hi Sarah,

I just wanted to clarify I said for most people. I think its true, most people I talk too are paying very little out of pocket (I'm talking about copaxone, thats all I know about). I think if you have HMO it's better. It does depend on the type of insurance you have which is true. Some people do pay a lot and that depends heavily on the type of insurance you have.
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Avatar universal
I do respectfully disagree with bubbles over the cost not being expensive if you have insurance.  I've dealt with enough insurance companies to understand tiers and MS drugs do not fall into the tier one category.  

I fully understand that some people pay very little but its not a good overall general statement.

Back under my rock
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2112931 tn?1335098402
Wow!  You are all so amazing!  I love getting this much of a response!  You are all so very helpful!  Love it!!! Love you all!!!  I'm so glad to meet such a great group of people on here.  
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1981227 tn?1336328438
Hi Sandy, I just wanted to add don't worry about the cost of the drugs right now. I think for most people with insurance it will not be that expensive and shared solutions will try to help you out for copaxone! That's the my drug of choice and they told me its gonna cost me $20 per month! It's not started yet so the price may change.... But I worried a lot about the cost before and now I feel like I worried for nothing! So save your worrying for now. You might not even have MS :) Here's hoping!!
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1045086 tn?1332126422
Wow, I started this but had to break a time or two before I finished it.  Now that I finally posted, I see that Sarah has given you a lot of info too.  

Are you overwhelmed yet?  So sorry.  We can get carried away with our desire to help.  In fact, there are a substantial number of forum members who are attempting to learn to curb their wordiness with membership in the On-And-On Anon group CL Quix founded.  

My name is Mary and I'm a wordaholic.  Other members may choose anonymity even though we are easily identifed on site.

Apologies.
Mary
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1045086 tn?1332126422
Here's a related discussion from a little while back.
http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Multiple-Sclerosis/Why-generic-MS-drugs-wont-be-cheap/show/1641782

A generic glatiramer acetate will likely appear far sooner than generic versions of any of the interferons.  There are no generic drug modifiers at present.  I don't think the Copaxone patent even expires until 2014.  I assume Teva is in court now because wanna-be generic manufactures need to get the process started now if they hope to be in production for product release in 2014.

I know drug manufacturers are gamblers but it surprises me a little when they remain so interested in investing gobs of capital in the start-up manufacturing for a generic injectable drug when so many PwMS are interested in the oral modifiers coming through trials.  Where's the pay-off with such a huge potential for decreased demand in the not-to-far future?  It just makes me wonder.  Will they be left with nothing but litigation losses to eat?  Teva makes out of course - passing the 'cost of doing business' along to their ailing customers.

I TOTALLY understand the concern about generic production of biologic and monoclonal drugs.  I wouldn't want them either.  But I'm on Copaxone and I'm not sure I want a generic of that either.  Generics aren't always a lot cheaper and I'm certain a generic glatiramer would be VERY costly.  But if insurance demands use of the 'preferred' generic form, co-pay could become the driving force behind which one I inject.  Not a good choice.  I'm already required to get my injectable from a single named pharmacy.  I'd like to keep control of something along the line.

Sandy, if/when you are diagnosed, I'd advise checking with your insurance carrier immediately about their coverage of these drugs.  My health insurance (also a work plan) created a new pharmaceutical tier this year.  It includes drugs they consider expecially expensive.  Naturally, the employee bears a higher share of the cost to obtain any drug on that list.  

My Copaxone co-pay used to be $150 for a 90 day supply.  Now it is $250.  That may be a small fraction of the billed charge but it's plenty enough to cause cracks in my budget.  You have to check your own benefits.  Many people pay less than I do.  Some pay much more.  I don't want to scare you but the reality is - MS is a very expensive disease.

Good luck as you go forward.
Mary
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Avatar universal
Sandy
you also have to look at how many Tiers your insurance plan has; some of the tiers, like mine has 4 tiers, some of the more expensive drugs, i.e., provigil, for example, falls into tier 4 and just because its generic, it still carries a co-pay of 30%.

Generally only tier 1 is totally free of co-pay and that would cost me an additional $$ premium.  To take advantage of that FREE generic, I would have to figure up how much I usually spend for generics and see if it is lesser to upgrade.

Your basic question.  NO, DMD drugs are not generic, they have not been around that long and my personal opinion is that I do not want generics "messing" with something that crucial to my health.  That said, I will clarify it by saying that some generics do nothing for people and some give the same results as brand names.  So, since you often do not see the "working" or "good results" of a DMD, would you want to "chance" a generic for say years and years only to find out that it did nothing?

I don't think its worth risking.  The truth and bottom line is that MS is a very expensive disease, both in testing, doctors, ongoing tests, medications, PT, appliances, etc., and there is no way around it unless you bury your head in the sand and not take any meds and take the risk.  It is ultimately your choice but is expensive.  I was wisely told to "get my ducks in a row insurance wise" before I was diagnosed but having been told for so long that I did not have it, I did not heed this advice and am now retired with very little insurance to fall back on that I can afford.

Hope this helps you digest it.  Once you decide on a drug, consult with the drug companies, there are a wide range of financial help systems in place to assist you in lowering the cost.

A warning about Copaxene's claim to offer $35 or so coverage if you have insurance.....comes with stipulations.  Your insurance company has to be one that will work with Copax's pharmacy......and some do not.  So thoroughly check out your possible coverage before you commit to a specific therapy.

Now that I probably have you thoroughly confused, back under my cozy rock!
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198419 tn?1360242356
No, not yet. Your insurance company should have to allow the script for a disease modifier if you ultimately get dx'd with MS, and ordered a modifier.

There is a patent infringement case on Copaxone going to trial soon.
While generics are cheaper - it's my opinion that disease modifiers are something I hope they are not successful in having rights too. Just to risky to me.
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