SEROQUEL PATENT EXPIRES ON September 26, 2011 !

Glad it helped, it's great when we get positive news.

 

Thanks to the brilliant EW who discovered Seroquel in Wilmington R&D. Sadly, they are already all fired by AZ.

 

To the idiot that posted most people grow out of their bipolar illness by the time they reach their 30's... You're an F'n idiot. Most people do not show significant symptoms until their late 20's/early 30's. Your symptoms may change as your body changes, but you don't grow out of Bipolar. You're an idiot.

For me, Seroquel has been a lifesaver, and I work with a counseling group for people with bipolar where many people have gone back to their docs and gotten on Seroquel. I had one friend go from taking 5 medications (Zyprexa - the worst drug EVER, zoloft, cymbalta, klonopin and lithium). Now, she takes Seroquel IR (NOT the XR - it bites!) and klonopin on a PRN basis. And that's just one example. There have been many others that have reduced their meds due to a switch over to Seroquel.

You may initially gain some weight (I actually gained my weight while on the drug from hell... Zyprexa), but you can lose it. I lost the 60 lbs I gained from Zyprexa (gained it in 3 months) by doing the HCG diet... lost it in 3 months! And even though I'm taking Seroquel IR 600mg nightly, I've kept the weight off for almost 6 months now. I used HCG Activator available at GNC but cheaper on drugstore.com.

And, the seroquel patent doesn't expire until March 2012. I will be one happy camper b/c even though I have great insurance, my script still runs $200 a month. Bring on the generics (and the increase in my shoe allowance!!), but please, make sure they work. The last thing we need is a bunch of Seroquel users to start having manic and depressive episodes/major mood swings, because a drug wasn't tested sufficiently. Gee, wouldn't be the first time a drug was rushed to market!

 

Really? REALLY? My understanding as a layperson from reading the available material is that a true dx of bipolar or schizophrenia is incredibly difficult to pin down before the patient reaches their mid twenties, and many symptoms won't even manifest until late twenties or early thirties. Which is what happened to me--the worst of my mania didn't manifest until my late twenties and it took me two years of working with my psychologist and psychiatrist to figure out what was happening. A doctor who actually diagnoses a kid or teenager with either of these conditions without having known that kid their entire life is a quack who shouldn't be trusted.

 

I have been paying for my son's Seroquel since he was diagnosed six years ago when he was diagnosed as bipolar and without health insurance. The cost is now nearly $800/month, a price that will be difficult to pay once I retire in June 2012. When will a generic form be available in the U.S.?

 

It should be available within weeks.

 

What a relief. Will that require a new prescription from my son's physician or will a pharmacy automatically issue the generic?

 

I imagine you will have to ask the pharmacist to use the generic as you don't have health insurance that will automatically switch you to the far less expensive option. Go to your pharmacy now and ask the pharmacist when the Teva or quetiapine generic from any company will be available. Then order it and stop paying the huge monthly bill. Good luck.

 

I always thought the pharmacist could ask you if you wanted a generic and make the switch unless the physician specifically writes brand medically necessary. In the past when products went generic that is where we asked physicians to write brand necessary. In today's market with that population I doubt it would hold much water. Anyway, so far as AZ is concerned, Seroquel IR doesn't exist anymore, only XR.

 

It's the patients choice. If the patient wants a generic they will get a generic. You can ask a doctor to write brand necessary but there are too many forces fighting a much more expensive choice. Economics will dictate the decision. Now that Seroquel IR is generic every managed care plan will be pushing IR, and the XR will no longer be an economically, or therapeutically viable choice. Especially, as there is no difference in efficacy between them.

 

That's true. A patient could perhaps want XR, however their plan might only include generic IR, in which case the patient would need to mortgage the house to pay the difference for XR.

 

What possible reason would a person have for wanting XR besides free samples and a comparable price to IR. There is no difference. The CNS salesforce is doomed. Stay tuned viewers.

 

Seroquel is counter-intuitive in that smaller amounts are more sedative than are larger doses. As an antipsychotic it is prescribed 500-800 mg. However, it is often used as an adjunct med for major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder, but in much smaller amounts. (i.e. 25-100mg).
I can report that, for me, seroquel virtually eliminates allergy problems. Two thumbs up.

 

Come on AZ there has to be a combo drug here somewhere. Rhinoquel?

I think the psychosis patients are a little more agitated. I do not think that Seroquel titrates in reverse for sedation. Any experts out there on this?

 

Actually our esteemed research people are working on "XYLOQUEL" a xylocaine/Seroquel combo....it may not work for psychosis but you won't feel a thing! Patient health first! RAH!