An ongoing dialogue on HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases,
June 20th, 2012
Abacavir Becomes the Latest Generic Antiretroviral Agent
Hot on the heels of generic nevirapine comes generic abacavir: On June 18, 2012, FDA granted approval for a generic formulation of abacavir tablets, 300 mg, manufactured by Mylan Pharmaceuticals, indicated in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV-1 infection. FDA has determined that the generic formulation is bioequivalent and, therefore, therapeutically equivalent to the […]
January 22nd, 2012
Generic Lamivudine Has Arrived
An e-mail from a patient last week: Just got refills. Epivir is now generic??? Refill is simply labeled Lamivudine Tablets by Aurobindo Pharma USA, Inc …but made in India. Should I be concerned about that??? John I told John (not his real name) not to be concerned — he is merely substituting the generic for the […]
June 24th, 2011
Reflections on Levofloxacin as it Goes Generic
With the news that a generic form of levofloxacin has just been approved by the FDA, some thoughts about this remarkable antibiotic: When it was first approved in 1996, levofloxacin was the first oral antibiotic that really covered all common causes of community acquired pneumonia. Strep pneumo, H flu, mycoplasma, legionella, chlamydia — check, check, check, […]
May 26th, 2011
Surprise! It’s Generic Combivir!
After last week’s unveiling of the new NNRTI rilpivirine, now we have a different kind of drug approval from the FDA: FDA granted approval for a generic formulation fixed dose combination of lamivudine and zidovudine tablets, 150 mg/300 mg, two nucleoside analogue reverse transcriptase inhibitors, indicated in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of […]
December 28th, 2009
Holiday Surprise: Generic Valacyclovir
Last week one of my patients went to refill a Valtrex prescription, and was offered generic valacyclovir for the first time. It made him nervous, so he requested I write a “brand-name only” script. I confess the existence of a generic formulation of valacyclovir — which according to the PharmD here has been available for several […]
Paul E. Sax, MD
Contributing Editor
NEJM Journal Watch
Infectious Diseases
Biography | Disclosures | Summaries
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