Four Popular WC Medications > Generic
There are presently four popular WC medications that are becoming generic in the next few months. The NAMSAP (National Association Medicare Set Asides Professionals) conference in Las Vegas has provided me with a vast amount of new information on MSA’s.
Dr. Marcos Iglesias, Midwest Employers Casualty, presented on the medication component of MSA‘s. One of the interesting parts of his presentation was the four medications that are very popular with WC injured workers are now going to be generic in the near future.
The four popular WC medications are:
- Nexium – May 2014 (AstraZeneca)
- Lunesta – May 2014 (Sunovian)
- Exalgo – July 2014 (Mallinckrodt)
- Celebrex – December 2014 (Pfizer)
The initial manufacturer of medications that are deemed generic (lose their patent) is often Teva Pharmaceuticals. Teva is a very popular manufacturer of generic medications.
Exalgo was one that I had not seen that much in any of the WC files we have reviewed over the past few years. Exalgo is basically an extended release opioid. Celebrex would be the most popular that I have seen out of the four listed meds.
Many of the pharmaceutical companies will file multiple lawsuits against any of the generic manufacturers as they do not wish to lose their patent.
If you are involved with any MSA’s one component to examine for future medical expenditures is the medications the injured worker is taking may not be the higher-priced brand name forever. Knowing the date when a patent expires can reduce the future med costs extensively.
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