Guide For Dexedrine Generics

Navigating the maze that is Dexedrine Generics is painfully complicated. Here are some tips.

Everyone has their preference when it comes to medications like Dexedrine and Adderall. I happen to believe that the Brand Name drug is preferable to the generics, but the price is just astronomical. Dexedrine ER Capsules (Amedra) are priced at about $1300 for a bottle of # 90. The right to manufacture generic versions of the brand medication is spread among a number of companies, and changes constantly as companies are sold and resold to different holding groups.

As for Generic Dexedrine: in 2010 Corepharma purchased the right to make Dexedrine from GlasxoSmithKline. CP then offered Brand Dexedrine (made by one of their divisions, Amedra) and generic Dextroamphetamine Sulfate - under the CP label. Here's the tip: the Brand and the Generic were almost certainly the same medication - with different packaging, of course. The Brand price was 2x the Generic.

Then another company within the same holding group, Lineage Therapeutics, took over the manufacture of Generic Dexedrine. Finally, a year ago, another investment group, Impax, purchased the right to make both Brand and Generic Dexedrine. However, if you order Impax Generic from a pharmacy, the bottle still reads Lineage Therapeutics.
Confused?

The only way to follow the changing manufacturer for Dextroamphetamine Sulfate is to know the medication's NDC code, which happens to be 54505-329-09. That's how you know that the generic Dexedrine now made by Impax is the same medication originally made by CorePharma.

For a bottle of #90 15mg capsules: Amedra Brand is $1300, and Impax Generic is $618. But it is the same medication with a different name.

Without insurance, sadly, if you want the best generic Dexedrine (Impax), it will cost $618 for #90. The other generics are priced about the same.

You will also see that the tablet form of generic Dexedrine is much less expensive. The price for #100 10mg tablets from Impax is about $200. Other generic tablets are even less expensive.

Now you know the baseline wholesale price if you go to your local pharmacy to purchase one of the generics. As I say, I believe that the generic now marketed under the name of Impax is the best generic out there, but others may have their preferences.

Finally, what to do when a pharmacy says, "We can't get the Impax generic, we carry only the Barr and Mallinckrodt generics." Are they being truthful?

Well, now you have to find out the name of the distributor the pharmacy uses for its medication supply. There is no reason why the pharmacy should withhold that information from you. Now the problem is to figure out which drug distributors carry which generic versions of Dexedrine. That list is not published. Here you need some help from a friendly pharmacist

The computer monitor in a pharmacy shows all available medications listed by NDC number. The pharmacist's monitor should also indicate which distributors carry the particular generic you want, and which local or chain pharmacies use that distributor. There is no reason why this information should not be available, but it is not. You need the pharmacist's help here.

You can now go to that particular pharmacy and ask them to order the generic medication you want - even if they do not stock that drug. If they say, 'We can't order that medication,' ask them to look again - because they can order it.

Remember, if you have insurance that covers generic Dexedrine or generic Adderall it almost always means that the plan covers all the generics. So have your doctor write the prescription for that particular generic with Do Not Substitute checked off.

Yes, I know it is an arduous procedure. But just figure that you weren't the one who spent endless hours trying to decipher this enigma.

So the best generic Dexedrine (in my opinion) is now made by Impax Pharmaceuticals. 90 capsules, regardless of dose, will cost you at least $618.00 without insurance. 4 years ago, the wholesale price was about $275, before that, even less. Dexedrine generic capsules have been on the market for 60 years or more. The cost to the manufacturer hasn't changed much. Now people who need these medications cannot afford them if they lack insurance. This is part of a national scandal which allows for completely unjustifiable drug pricing at the expense of people's health needs. Write your congress person. If we remain silent, this kind of rip off pricing will just continue.

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REPORT

First, is that the price with their RX discount card?

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No, this is the price that distributor typically charges the pharmacy. The price varies, however, depending on the bargaining power of the pharmacy or, better, the pharmacy chain to negotiate a lower price. The price to a customer varies accordingly but, in my experience, RX discount cards do not dramatically lower the purchase price to a patient. If the pharmacy has to pay a very high price to the distributor who, in turn, passes on the very high price set by the drug manufacturer, you (the customer) will pay a very high price for (what once was) a relatively inexpensive medication. Without government (or other) regulation, this is what happens.

You know, it is one thing for a pharmaceutical company with a heavy investment in R and D to charge a lot for medications under their patent--as a means to compensate for the the extraordinary cost of developing new medications, and the hit the company takes when a new medication does not make it past third stage clinical trials. I am not saying it justifies the very high price set for new medications under patent, but it is a realistic factor.

For medications like Dextroamphetamine, or generic Adderal, these medications are produced by manufacturers who typically do not invest in R and D. Price increases translate into immediate company profit. By definition, the price does not cover financial losses due to failure to bring new medications to market. $600.00 for a bottle of 90 ER Dextroamphetamine capsules enriches the company and its investors. Period. The impact on a patient who may now be unable to afford the medication or whose insurance company will now no longer cover this medication because of cost, well, that is way, way down on their list of concerns.

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Impax is also global in case the warehouses need help. Costco probably has more luck since they have numerous ones on backup I find that calling the insurance may help. I wish I could get brand or afford them but I can't. After years of the Barr garbage, I actually like the Actavis brand.

I tried Zenzedi and the short acting trials and I am alright taking a couple of these twice a day.

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Hey! Very helpful!... Question - I relied on the Amneal/Impax dex for the past year now, but now they are discontinued according to the Amenal website..... What is our next best option? I've tried Mallingkrodt and Teva, but neither as good as Amneal.

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Re: Guest (# 1)

Well, Impax has discontinued manufacturing this drug. Does anybody have any info on who now makes it?

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