Zytiga or zytiga generic

[Drphil1938]

Is there a problem with the generic. It cost 25 percent of the brand name. My MO nurse has said he wont use it. I am going to talk to him next month and ask why. Just thought someone out there would know.

[JamesAtlanta]

My oncologist told me the generic is made in the same factory as the brand name. And it is equally effective. I don’t like taking 4 tablets instead of 2...but I’m getting the same results. And my insurance company - United Healthcare - will no longer cover Zytiga - they will only cover the generic.

Hope this helps!

Best,

James

[Drphil1938 in reply to JamesAtlanta]

Glad to hear this, my company is 26 percent or $2500 now and after donut hole 5 percent is still $500 per month. Generic is about $125. Starts over each year.

[Hidden in reply to Drphil1938]

I know someone who will be starting on the generic soon. I know his daughter and she called me today to ask what I knew about Zytiga since she knows I have PCa. I told her I've been on it for almost a year with no problem. I'm not on the generic, but I expect that will change when the VA runs out of the brand name.

[Fairwind in reply to Hidden]

The VA in Denver switched over to the generic several months ago..The pills started coming in a hand counted VA prescription bottle not the sealed J & J factory container they had been coming in..

[Hidden in reply to Fairwind]

I just got some that was the original, but I know that's going to end. It's a good thing that there is a generic. Makes it much more affordable.

[arete1105]

I listened to radio interview and I thought the guest said the generics are made in China and the quality is questionable.

nytimes.com/2019/05/13/book...

[Schwah in reply to arete1105]

Ouch. That’s shocking and scary. How would one determine where any particular drug was made?

Schwah

[Hidden in reply to Schwah]

My generic was from Mylan pharmaceuticals. Not sure where the product is made but they are on the new your stock exchange. Not Chinese. Also I paid a lot more than 25 percent of Zytiga

[whatsinaname in reply to arete1105]

I knew about Ranbaxy being severely flawed, but Cipla is considered good.

I have just ordered the Kindle version of the book on Amazon.in and have begun to read it. Thank you very much, arete1105.

[FCoffey in reply to arete1105]

The generic I received was made in India by a reputable company. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals was established in 1977 for the specific purpose of making generic drugs. Their abiraterone brand is Abirapro.

This company sells well over $1 billion a year with much of their growth in the US and Europe.

A search of the FDA inspection database of Glenmark facilities shows 21 inspections between 2013 and late 2018. All were either NAI (No Action Indicated) basically a passing grade, or VAI (Voluntary Action Indicated) which is basically a demerit that the company agrees to fix.

To put that in perspective, FDA inspections of Merck in the US are mostly NAI or VAI, but there are a few OAI (Official Action Indicated) which means some sort of enforcement action is possible.

Glenmakr isn't mentioned in the NYT scare story. That story was about the Ranbaxy scandal, where another Indian pharmaceutical company was falsifying drug test reports. The courts and FDA got involved, Ranbaxy got punished by the market as well as the FDA. Most of the dust had settled by 2014, when Ranbaxy was acquired by Sun Pharmaceuticals. The FDA has prohibited production of drugs at two of the former Ranbaxy facilities.

The FDA inspected a former Ranbaxy (now Sun) facility in Gurugram, India in January 2018. The FDA found NAI (No Action Indicated) basically a passing grade.

[arete1105 in reply to arete1105]

The book I was thinking about is called Bottle of Lies by Katherine Eban. It is about generics and quality control.

[Peterd110]

I wonder about the effectiveness as I went from <0.1 to 0.1 on my last blood draw shortly after switching

[leo2634]

I'm on generic four months now no change. My pills are made by a laboratory in Israel called Teva.

[PabloK in reply to leo2634]

i used to work in Israel - and Teva is a first rate company - they do a lot of generics

[PabloK]

so what is the price difference - i'm on zytiga/lupron that has been covered by my company health plan - but i'm looking at retirement and am getting extremely high coinsurance rates - somewhere in the range of $1000/month. The lady that was doing the analysis for me said that the generic for zytiga was not much less - and i'm assuming that there is no hope for lower costs for Lupron - anybody have any good answers -

thanks

[leo2634]

Zytiga was about an $1,800.00 a month copay the generic cost me $465.00 but my insurance and grants cover it all. I'm now in the catostofic stage so I only pay like 5 percent of my medicine.

[Philly13]

The question is there a problem with the generic is a general question. There are quite a few manufacturers of a generic version according to Drugs.com. I am not making any judgments about the answer to the question but wonder if the manufacturer makes any difference. My Medicare part D prescription drug provider specifies CVS and they are 1/2 the price of my hospital specialty pharmacy department. Your copay of $125 after the donut hole seems very good. If that is 5% and you are paying 25 per month that is much better than the cheapest price I found. I saw you said your insurer is United. Which pharmacy do you use?

Here is a list of current manufacturers of Zytiga.

abiraterone acetate tablet;oral

Manufacturer: AMNEAL PHARMS

Approval date: January 7, 2019

Strength(s): 250MG [AB]

Manufacturer: APOTEX INC

Approval date: October 31, 2018

Strength(s): 250MG [AB]

Manufacturer: HIKMA PHARMS

Approval date: October 31, 2018

Strength(s): 250MG [AB]

Manufacturer: MYLAN

Approval date: October 31, 2018

Strength(s): 250MG [AB]

Manufacturer: RISING

Approval date: February 25, 2019

Strength(s): 250MG [AB]

Manufacturer: TEVA PHARMS USA

Approval date: October 31, 2018

Strength(s): 250MG [AB]

Manufacturer: WOCKHARDT BIO AG

Approval date: February 27, 2019

Strength(s): 250MG [AB]

Note: Fraudulent online pharmacies may attempt to sell an illegal generic version of Zytiga. These medications may be counterfeit and potentially unsafe. If you purchase medications online, be sure you are buying from a reputable and valid online pharmacy. Ask your health care provider for advice if you are unsure about the online purchase of any medication.

See also: Generic Drug FAQs.

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