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American Morning

New Generic Form of Prozac Set to Debut

Aired August 02, 2001 - 10:10   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The approach of midnight brings the bewitching hour for the maker of one of today's most popular drugs. At that time, drugmaker Eli Lilly loses its patent protection of the anti-depressant drug Prozac. And for users of the drug, a new generic form, along with cheaper prices, is already on its way.

Our medical news correspondent Rea Blakey is in Washington this morning and she's got more on this and the legal battle that is sure to loom -- Rea.

REA BLAKEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Leon.

As of today, consumers could start saving $3 billion over the course of the next three years, that, according to the Generic Pharmaceutical Association. Why? Well, because the patent on Prozac is expiring today. The little green and white anti-depressants, one of the best selling drugs in history, is about to get some competition.

After months of legal battling, Barr Laboratories won the right to introduce a cheaper generic version of fluoxetine hydrochloride. That's the active ingredient in Prozac.

Now, after a thumbs up from the FDA, which is expected some time today, generic dosages of Prozac can be sold by other pharmaceutical companies. Barr Laboratories has an exclusive six month hold on the most popular dosage, that's the 20 milligrams. Other companies have rights to other dosages and the liquid version of Prozac.

Now, how much will consumers be paying for these generic versions? Well, there's no exact figures yet, but the current $2.50 price tag per pill will surely drop. But you'll have to be patient to get the full payoff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM NIXON, GENERIC PHARMACEUTICAL ASSOCIATION: It's important with Prozac to understand that Barr will have a 180 day exclusivity period. So you won't see an immediate drop that far when it hits the market today. But you will see it drop up to 70, 80 percent by year number three now that it's on the market.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLAKEY: Now, this is all contingent on the FDA granting Eli Lilly's competitors a piece of the generic Prozac pie. Meanwhile, Eli Lilly says it's been preparing for this day, patent expiration day, for a long time. A company spokesperson says as part of its future strategy for success, Lilly will introduce 10 new drug products over the next two to three years, Leon. But Eli Lilly still has one more card up its sleeve if it chooses. At this point it doesn't seem that they will approach the United States Supreme Court to prevent all this from getting under way -- Leon.

HARRIS: All right, good deal. Thank you very much, Rea Blakey in Washington. We'll talk with you later.

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