how long till propecia goes generic?

[FreeloaderUK]

just wondering coz although I am using it right now- it isnt cheap. works out at just over £1 a tablet ($2)

 

[amsch]

Why not get Finpecia?

 

[CD79]

Guessing he wants to be sure he's getting the real thing.

 

[bubka]

2013 in the US, however there is the 5mg generic available

 

[treadstone]

Yah, Merck's patent for finasteride as a BPH drug expired a year or two ago, but for the use of male pattern baldness they have the patent till 2013 like Bubka said.

 

[abcdefg]

Well the answer is when merk gets more rich after repackaging an existing drug and marketing for hairloss. What a scheme those pharmaceutical companies have its no wonder our politicians bend over backwards to do there bidding.

 

[Cassin]

Well the answer is when merk gets more rich after repackaging an existing drug and marketing for hairloss. What a scheme those pharmaceutical companies have its no wonder our politicians bend over backwards to do there bidding.

Propecia is pretty much a dud for them. They expected sales to be much higher.

 

[bubka]

Well anything less than 1 billion is a "dud"

I think I saw propecia sales last year were like 700,000 million?

 

[Bryan]

I think I saw propecia sales last year were like 700,000 million?

Wow! They sold 700 BILLION dollars worth of Propecia?

 

[Cassin]

October 07 article

The drugmaker is eliminating 43 positions from its dermatology sales force, which peddles the baldness med. A Merck spokeswoman confirms the move will occur by April, presumably to give the sales reps an opportunity to find other jobs with the drugmaker.

She went onto explain the cuts reflect “shifting priorties,â€￾ much as Merck earlier this year eliminated 250 sales positions devoted to Fosamax, the osteoprosis med that faces patent expiration next year. Although Propecia doesn’t lose patent protection until 2013, sales are relatively modest - $98 million worldwide in this year’s second quarter, rising just 4 percent in the all-important US market.

 

[bubka]

No, you got me on the semantics. like the $.99C Big Mac, I want 100 for $1. :$

Mercks propecia sales were $700,000.

 

[FreeloaderUK]

Well the answer is when merk gets more rich after repackaging an existing drug and marketing for hairloss. What a scheme those pharmaceutical companies have its no wonder our politicians bend over backwards to do there bidding.

Propecia is pretty much a dud for them. They expected sales to be much higher.

if they lowered their prices then maybe they'd boost sales

 

[Cassin]

Well the answer is when merk gets more rich after repackaging an existing drug and marketing for hairloss. What a scheme those pharmaceutical companies have its no wonder our politicians bend over backwards to do there bidding.

Propecia is pretty much a dud for them. They expected sales to be much higher.

if they lowered their prices then maybe they'd boost sales

without question.

$60 to $80 a month is just stupid.

 

[treadstone]

Why didn't propecia meet Merck's expectations? Was it unrealistic sales expectations or a fear on the part of consumer about side effects?

 

[Cassin]

Why didn't propecia meet Merck's expectations? Was it unrealistic sales expectations or a fear on the part of consumer about side effects?

I think people have a serious hang up waiting 12 months to see if something "only works on the vertex" as the literature states.

For me it worked almost instantly all over the top of my head.

 

[bubka]

marketing wise, I think they failed to make it mainstream and sexy like half of the other drugs out there... this one is still embarrassing. Hell picking up a rx for valtrax seems more fun.

 

[treadstone]

I definitely don't feel it's in the mainstream. Everyone's heard of Rogaine but I don't think Propecia has that same mainstream penetration.

 

[Britannia]

Apparantly they had originally wanted 1mg of Finasteride to be classed as OTC by the UK's MHDA which of course didnt happen. With Propecia being classed as POM in the UK, the company were prohibited from marketing the medication in any shape or form. All advertising of prescription medicines is illegal in the UK (except to healthcare professionals for educational purposes). This effectively killed off the biggest potential market Propecia had outside of the US. Propecia has a high cost to reflect its relative target market - i.e. young professional males. Right or wrong, someone high up in Merck belives this was the best way to market the drug. Excluding R+D costs, it is very likely Propecia packaging costs more than the production of the drug itself.