Good News for Namenda Users

"Actavis can't pull Alzheimer's Drug."  federal appeals court

Actavis, a large pharmaceutical company which makes Namenda, wanted to pull an older Alzheimer's drug from the market to switch patients to a newer, more expensive version before generic competition emerged.  Actavis was going to halt sales of Namenda and promote a newer version they have developed.  This was apparently in an attempt to switch patients to its new drug before their patent ran out on Namenda and other companies made the drug, making it more affordable.  The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled that Actavis will not be able to remove the older form of Namenda until August, which gives competitors a chance to enter their generic versions of Namenda into the market.

This is good news for all of us who are caregivers for someone with dementia. Even with prescription drug insurance, my loved one's medication bills are several hundred dollars a month.