Generics, 40 mg. Copaxone and Teva

[itasara1]

I may have written, but I don't see it. I read thru the posts here. My thoughts are that until a generic form of Copaxone comes out, insurance companies like mine will refuse all or most of us to go on the 40mg dose. I don't think the insurance company cares about what the patient or the patient's doctor would like. It is all about hoping the generic drug will come out soon. The insurance company has already sent me a note that they will not pay for "convenience" so puncturing onseself 3x/wk rather than 7x/week is a "convenience." It would be nice if the drug company cared about the patient but for them it is all about money and keeping their patent. It's a game both parties play with the patient and the doctor caught on the sidelines b/c they are not a player just part of the investment.

[ribeye]

I have been waiting for the 40 mg dose but nothing from insurance company yet. Oh, well. I guess 20 mg is the only way to get Copaxone at the moment. I bet the generic is still gonna be thousands of dollars per year. Hurts my head thinking about the cost to patients and even the insurance companies.

[Kronk]

Not available in Canada yet

[itasara1]

To Cheerleader: You were automatically moved from 20 to 40mg Copaxone? How did that happened? Did your neuro send in some special request? Who is your insurance company..maybe if they have it in their fomulary I'll join it next year!!

[MarkLavelle]

While my neuro has discussed it, and Shared Solutions has called about it, I wouldn't say I've felt pressured to switch to 3x/week. I'm quite sure that anything other than every day would cause me to miss shots.

I haven't heard anything from Cygna, but I plan to switch to a generic soon after they become available anyway...

[cheerleader]

To Cheerleader: You were automatically moved from 20 to 40mg Copaxone? How did that happened? Did your neuro send in some special request? Who is your insurance company..maybe if they have it in their fomulary I'll join it next year!!

Hi itasara--no, he was not moved from 20 to 40mg---my husband was pressured by Shared Solutions and he had difficulty renewing his 20mg. prescription. There was a hold up, but it eventually came thru and he's still on 20mg....and still getting calls from Shared Solutions to switch. He likes the 20mg dosage, has been on it 7 years, wants to stay on his current regimen, and believes he should be able to.
cheer

[ribeye]

Well, looks like I can't get any form of Copaxone. Insurance seems to be waiting for the generic. Gilenya is my only option now since Tecfidera made me very sick. Maybe this will be a good thing. Or maybe I will just go to LDN. What a great freekin day.

[itasara1]

I agree that anyone should be on the medication that is agreed on upon with the physician. The insurance companies are in control and that is just not right. If you agree please keep writing your representatives, Teva, shared solutions (but they have become very non transparent.. no way online to write them!!! They used to but not any more... I complained to Teva about that!) Write your attorney general, I don't know if it will help but the more people that keep bugging them the more they'll have trouble ignoring us! (maybe?) Let the multiple sclerosis society know how you feel. Let your ins. company know you you feel and your neurologist.

[Cammie]

I am happy to switch to the 3x/wk 40 mg copaxone, because I am running out of shot sites. My skin is a mess!

[itasara1]

Let me know if you have any luck. So far I haven't gotten positive results but I keep being a slightly "squeaky wheel.".I have written some officials. Complained to Blue Cross and told them there official refusal reasons are "bogus." I recently sent a note again to Teva Pharmaceuticals and Shared Solutions. I still need to speak with my doctor, but he is not the problem; Blue Cross is. I would like to find a pharmacy that has the Copaxone 40 in its formulary that already covers my country. So far no luck but I'll starts looking around more seriously in October. I see my neuro then and I hope to have another talk with him vis-a-vis. Twitter is a good way to pressure the insurance company. I made a comment and got a call next day!

[Quest56]

If I remained at the 20mg dose, I'm certain my prescription benefit provider would require that I move to a generic version as soon as it becomes available in order to cut costs.

I've remained at the 20mg dose, so it was only a matter of time. My next glatiramer acetate refill arriving tomorrow is named glatopa, an FDA approved generic for Copaxone.

Progress.

[ElliotB]

My provider gave me a choice, which I though was a nice surprise as I was expecting them to insist that I take the generic.

[itasara1]

My last post was last year. Since then I and others finally got approval from excellus BCBS for the 40mg 3x/week COPAXONE. This was in the fall of 2014. I am glad this happened before the generic form came out, because I believe that 3x/week is less invasive to my skin than any qd variety. Despite that I am very fastidious about rotating sites, I can tell on my thighs what 10 years of everyday compaxone has done to my sub-skin. Because I do not have any flu-like symptoms like many do with the other MS drugs, and I'm still walking around, my doc and I are NOT considering a change in medications. If my situation changes It might be that I'll have to change medications. Everyone is different so I can only speak for myself, but I'd be curious to see how those on the new generic form of Copaxone feel; is it any different from COPAXONE QD or do you have any side effects that you did not have before, or vice versa.