These brand products are now available or will be shortly as the generic. But despite now being available as the generic, these products are still relatively expensive and will continue to be until more manufacturers begin making these products. Contact Pharmedix® customer service for availability and pricing. The products listed are only a partial list of new generic products that are now available.

As Drug Companies Consolidate, More Drug Prices Rise

The pharmaceutical buying frenzy continues. Actavis (formerly 3 companies including Barre-National, and Purepac) was purchased by Watson last year. The new company has been renamed Actavis (primarily for U.S. tax purposes) has also recently purchased Warner-Chilcott and Forest Laboratories and is now eyeing Stada Pharmaceuticals. U.S. based Bausch & Lomb has been sold to Valeant Pharmaceuticals, a Canadian company who is also looking at a hostile take over of Allergan. The pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer post merger and acquisition over the last 7 years has slashed 51,000 jobs. A mega merger between Pfizer and Astra Zeneca just recently fell through. Merck cut 24,000 jobs post acquisition of Schering-Plough while Bayer hopes to crush its consumer health rivals with its $14 billion dollar buyout of the Merck consumer health unit. In addition, Israel-based Teva Pharmaceuticals has plans to close half of its manufacturing plants world wide (including Sellersville, PA) which will save money and eliminate less profitable products and jobs. Teva has swallowed up a number of drug companies over the last 10-15 years including Copley, Barr, Biocraft, Novopharm, Pliva, Sidmak, Women’s Capital, & Zenith-Goldline.

While mergers and acquisitions continue (thereby decreasing competition), the prices of many generic drugs continue to rise. The older tricyclic antidepressants, such as amitriptyline and nortriptyline, have gone up in cost over 10 fold. Butalbital/acetaminophen and caffeine (generic Fioricet) will also be going up over 10 fold AFTER our current stock is exhausted. Generic Elimite (permethrin) will also be increasing over $20.00 a tube AFTER our current supply runs out. Shortages continue to cause the price of thyroid replacement products to increase with prices doubling over the last 2-3 months. Oral and topical ketoconazole is also on the rise; however, our topical ketoconazole price will remain stable until our current supply is gone probably by the end of the year. Phenazopyridine has also increased 10 fold in price but we have stock that will last about a year before we have to increase our price. Cefuroxime (generic Ceftin) has increased four-fold in price. Although our 500mg price has risen accordingly, our 250mg price is relatively the same since we purchased a large quantity before the price increase and we will keep the old price until we run out. Other notable generic products whose prices have or will double include clobetasol, fluocinonide (again), phenytoin, and warfarin while the price of tretinoin (generic Retin-A) has already increased 3-5 fold.

FDA Continues to Find Problems with Indian Pharmaceutical Companies

A number of Indian drug companies and some U.S. companies with facilities in India have come under serious scrutiny by the FDA. They include Ascend Labs (a division of Alkem Labs), Hospira, Ranbaxy Labs (recently sold), Sun Pharma & Wockhardt. A variety of violations have lead to individual plants being banned from export to the U.S.

Epipen cost spirals upward as government subsidies help pay the bill

Since President Obama signed into law a bill in November 2013 that will allow schools to administer an Epipen without a prescription in an emergency situation and established government grants for schools to purchase Epipens, the wholesale cost of the Epipens has increased over 30%. Shame on Dey Pharmaceuticals.