Simvastatin (Zocor) Generic HUGE price drop!!!!

[AntiPharm]

Normally the first 6 months that a drug becomes generic there are only modest price savings because the first generic drug manufacturer is given a 6 month exclusivity license from the FDA. They do what is called in the business as "shadow pricing". Just enough cheaper than the brand name drug that people will buy theirs; while maximizing profits by using their monopoly.

Simvastatin just shattered that business model.

Check out each of the lists of cheap drugs that GeeWhiz just posted ( http://www.slashdrugcosts.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=221 ) because there are some newer ones added that are huge price drops.

The biggest shock to me is that Kmart has Simvastatin (Zocor) on the list. A very popular internet pharmacy still has it at nearly 5 times that price!

One of the best Canadian internet pharmacies has it at 10 times Kmart's price!!

This is pretty major because statins are some of the most needed and most popular drugs... and have always been among the most expensive. A HUGE number of people are prescribed these drugs and never take them because of the cost.

A January 10, 2007 Journal of the American Medical Association article indicated the people who had previous heart attacks and took their statin drugs 40% or less of the time were twice as likely to die as those who took them at least 80% of the time.

Now price is no excuse not to follow your doctor's request that you take statins.

[jimithy]

If your prescribed dosage is less than 80mg then ask your doctor to prescribe half the number of pills at twice the dosage. You can use a pill cutter and reduce your costs to $2.50 a month!!!

See Splitting pills is easy and can often save nearly half

That is a ridiculously low price.

The Wall Street Journal showed yesterday just how "out of touch" reporters can be. KMarts have pharmacies over the countryside yet they reported yesterday. [url=http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=43547]Prescription Drugs | Generic Medications Often More Expensive Than Expected
[Mar 13, 2007][/url]

Their report showed that Simvastatin remained very expensive. (The article said Walgreens is charging $129.99 for 30 and Rite Aid charges $131.99)

Our predictions two months ago was that it would take until June or July 2007 before the price dropped to less than $50 a month; so this took us by surprise too. BUT if I was a reporter doing a story for a major publication I would hate to make the blunder this guy did. He did note a huge price drop from Drugstore.com but never investigated why (competition from KMart.)

Well getting a statin for $2.50 a month should be happy news for a lot of people.

[jimithy]

More retailers are dropping Simvastatin prices.

Sam's Club is $5.97 and Costco.com on Tuesday will fall to $10.66.

Aren't price wars great!

[1DayAAT]

Reports are that researchers believe Coenzyme CoQ10 has a beneficial effect on various aspects of heart disease. They also believe that certain cholesterol-lowering "statins" (such as pravastatin, simvastatin, atorvastatin, lovastatin, & cerivastatin) appear to deplete natural levels of CoQ10 in the body. They indicate that CoQ10 supplements could help with the those deficiencies without affecting the drug's positive effects.

This information and dosages of Q10 can be found at The University of Maryland School of Medicine - Coenzyme Q10.

[Jacob-Oram]

A generic drug is identical, or bioequivalent to a brand name drug in dosage form, safety, strength, route of administration, quality, performance characteristics and intended use. Although generic drugs are chemically identical to their branded counterparts, they are typically sold at substantial discounts from the branded price. According to the Congressional Budget Office, generic drugs save consumers an estimated $8 to $10 billion a year at retail pharmacies. Even more billions are saved when hospitals use generics.

[tedthefirst]

Simvastatin is a powerful drug that lowers cholesterol levels quickly! It works very well, but all users of statins need to be supplementing their diet with proper nutrition. This way, any nutritional deficiencies caused by the statins can be corrected with nutrition.

Ted