Lexapro lost patent protection in 2012, generics now available
Lexapro is a prescription antidepressant manufactured by Forest Laboratories, Inc. that can cost up to $200 for a 30-day supply. That makes the drug difficult to avoid for someone without health insurance. Although Forest Labs does offer a patient assistance program to help with the cost, not all who take Lexapro are eligible.
Generic Lexapro Available in March 2012
When the FDA approves a drug, it provides patent protection for a period of time, so the manufacturer can benefit from their investment. This protection expires eventually, and other manufacturers are then permitted to market drugs with the same active ingredient. These generic drugs are generally much cheaper than the brand name drug, providing alternatives to consumers. When a generic version of a medication is introduced, the price of the brand name drug generally falls in response to the new competition.
While generic drugs share an active ingredient with the brand name medication, they will all have different inactive ingredients. Since the inactive ingredients can affect how a patient reacts to a medication, patients should only switch from a brand name to a generic under the supervision of their healthcare provider.
Lexapro Brand Names
Some generic Lexapro will be sold under the generic name Escitalopram. Other brands of Lexapro include Cipralex, Citalin, Elicea, Lexam, Nexito, and Seroplex.
Outside of the United States Lexapro is available as Animaxen (Colombia), Anxiset-E (India),Escital (Nigeria), Citram (Croatia), Ecytara (Slovenia), Entact (Greece), Escitalopram Actavis (Finland), Escitil (Czech Republic), Esitalo (Australia), Esopram, by Actavis (Iceland), Esto (Israel), Escitalopram Teva (Israel), Exodus (Brazil), Lexamil (South Africa), Losita (Bangladesh), Reposil (Chile), Selectra (Russia), Selpram (Pakistan), and Sipralexa (Belgium).
