I was surfing the web recently and noticed a couple of news items that might be of interest to migraineurs.
As many of you know, my current preventative is Topamax. I almost always refer to Topamax by its brand name instead of its generic name “Topiramate,” because up until now, there hasn’t been a generic available in the US. Well, on September 12th, Mylan Laboratories Inc. announced that the FDA granted Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. final approval for its application for Topiramate Tablets 25mg, 100mg, and 200mg.
This could be good or bad for you, depending on your point of view. If you are cost-conscious, generics are always a good option, particularly for long-term maintenance drugs. However, when it comes to generics, if you have questions about whether or not the generic is as good as the brand, you may want to consult your doctor about the question of bioavailability and whether or not sticking with the brand is the right thing for you.
In other news, NuPathe, a start-up company out of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, has an experimental product that delivers sumatriptan via what they’re calling a “smart patch.” This smart patch uses a mild electrical field to propel the drug molecules across the skin.
This sounds like it might be an effective way to deliver abortive medication to those migraineurs that suffer severe nausea during migraine attacks and cannot take oral medication.
And finally, we have GSK and POZEN with Trexima™, which is a combination of sumatriptan and naproxen sodium. They’re going through final review procedures for this with the FDA as of September 2006. Hopefully, this combination will see the light of day soon, and migraineurs will have yet another weapon at their disposal.
There are new generics, new drug delivery methods, and new drug combinations here and on the horizon. With the number of migraineurs out there, migraine is big business, so the research and development keeps on going strong. For us, this means newer, better, and faster acting products—hopefully with less side effects.
Last reviewed by a physician specializing in migraine on 9/26/2006.
As many of you know, my current preventative is Topamax. I almost always refer to Topamax by its brand name instead of its generic name “Topiramate,” because up until now, there hasn’t been a generic available in the US. Well, on September 12th, Mylan Laboratories Inc. announced that the FDA granted Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. final approval for its application for Topiramate Tablets 25mg, 100mg, and 200mg.
This could be good or bad for you, depending on your point of view. If you are cost-conscious, generics are always a good option, particularly for long-term maintenance drugs. However, when it comes to generics, if you have questions about whether or not the generic is as good as the brand, you may want to consult your doctor about the question of bioavailability and whether or not sticking with the brand is the right thing for you.
In other news, NuPathe, a start-up company out of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, has an experimental product that delivers sumatriptan via what they’re calling a “smart patch.” This smart patch uses a mild electrical field to propel the drug molecules across the skin.
This sounds like it might be an effective way to deliver abortive medication to those migraineurs that suffer severe nausea during migraine attacks and cannot take oral medication.
And finally, we have GSK and POZEN with Trexima™, which is a combination of sumatriptan and naproxen sodium. They’re going through final review procedures for this with the FDA as of September 2006. Hopefully, this combination will see the light of day soon, and migraineurs will have yet another weapon at their disposal.
There are new generics, new drug delivery methods, and new drug combinations here and on the horizon. With the number of migraineurs out there, migraine is big business, so the research and development keeps on going strong. For us, this means newer, better, and faster acting products—hopefully with less side effects.
Last reviewed by a physician specializing in migraine on 9/26/2006.
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