Posted by Abajo on October 10, 2001, at 19:01:23
In reply to Re: What I learned today about alprazolam » Collete, posted by Cam W. on October 10, 2001, at 0:28:01
Ok folks, here is what I have found out about Mylan and the generic xanax they make. Several years ago Mylan bought all the rights to generic Tranzene and Ativan (both benzos). They then raised the prices of these generics to approximately the same price as the original patent holder. Several state attorneys filed a law suit against Mylan for cornering the market and raising the prices. Mylan just lost the lawsuit. They are of course appealing to keep their profits as high as possible as long as possible. It looks like they are now signing new contracts with the big drug chains like Wal Mart, undercutting Greestones prices to get their version of generic xanax on the market. I just had a refill filled by Wal Mart and noticed for the first time that the generic was made by Mylan, not Greenstone. I called the pharmacist to inquire why they had changed companies and he told me that home office got a better price with Mylan than with Greestone. I told him about the problems people were having with Mylan's version of generic Xanax and he said he knew it. He said that since they had signed the contract with Mylan there was nothing they could do about it. As Collete said, the only thing we can do is call our doctors and have them request that the generic version be made by Greenstone, not Mylan. The Pharmacist was well aware of this problem and told me to contact my doctor and have him call in a request that the generic dispensed be made by Greenstone, so they had a few days to get it in. There is nothing else the Pharmacist can do. The Pharmacist said to be sure and tell your doc what was going on with Mylan, as they might not have heard about the problems yet. This presents many problems. If Mylan's generic version of xanax is weaker than other generics we will have to take more of Mylan's pills to get the relief needed.
Xanax is a controlled substance and if we take more than prescribed to get the needed relief daily, we will run out of our scripts sooner and when we call in for a refill the pharmicist is going to call our doctors to get approval. If we don't inform our doctors about the weakness of the Mylan generic they might think we are taking more than they prescribed and that could create a problem with the docs thinking that we are abusing the drug. It's imperative that you let your doc know what is going on if MYLAN'S GENERIC VERSION IS CAUSING PROBLEMS FOR YOU. Mylan's name as an ethical company is already in question because they cornered the market on Tranzene and Ativan for several years. The doctors were pissed and the Pharmisist's were pissed. A lot of patients had been controlled and were stable for long periods of time on Tranzene and Ativan, only now they couldn't afford them. My monthly cost for Tranzene went from $30 to $240. The Pharmacist's were being acosted about why the price of these drugs had gone up so high. If anyone knows how to get a hold of Mylan, we can start sending emails with complaints. We can also email the FDA about this problem. I have already sent an email to the FDA complaining about Mylan's version of generic xanax. Alone, my email will have no affect. But if others will email them, perhaps we can get the FDA out to investigate Mylan. It is obvious that Mylan see's the writing on the wall about their jacked up prices with generic Tranzene and Ativan. As soon as they exhaust their appeals, other companies will be able to make generics and the price will come back down to affordable prices. One problem with all this. What if Mylan is trying to corner the market on generic Xanax, since they have lost Tranzene and Ativan. Lord have mercy on us. Corporate profits over human health. Nothing wrong with making a profit, but in my case, they jumped the profit up 800%. Please, if someone knows how to get in touch with Mylan, post it so we can complain.
poster:Abajo
thread:80766
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011007/msgs/80912.html