The Careful Prescriber

An outfit looking to make some money is marketing a 7.5 mg strength of cyclobenzaprine to the tune of $1.93 per tablet at the listed wholesale acquisition cost. There is an immediate question here, but let’s go on first. There are a bunch of new, but old products that are anything but unique and not very impressive to a career pharmacist. When the careful prescriber takes a close look she will likely conclude that the products are not needed. Not helpful to her practice and very expensive compared to the alternatives.

This 7.5 mg cyclobenzaprine is remarkable only in that its expense is outrageous when compared to the generic cyclobenzaprine 5 mg and 10 mg. I cannot imagine how they are marketing it to you guys. Do they really expect you to buy the idea that a 7.5 mg strength is actually needed?

I contend that this product would not even be a glimmer in an investor’s eye if there weren’t such a thing as prescription insurance. No one who had to shell out real money would consider paying the price to get a once-a-day dosing when two-times-a-day would cost them peanuts. It is the insurance companies that are getting hosed and right behind come the people who pay the premiums.

This has been happening a lot during these years when our government has been favoring drug marketing outfits with money to invest with the only purpose being the making of a lot more money. The entire pharma industry seems to have relegated ameliorating disease and curing illness to a second class afterthought.

The question about this 7.5 mg tablet is what justification is there to wedging in a 7.5 mg dose (at a cost to the pharmacy of $2.00 a tablet) when there have long been available 5.0 mg and 10.0 mg cyclobenzaprine tablets for a nickel a dose? That’s right. 5 cents.

Take a hard look at these new, but old products. Are they needed? What do they cost? If they are the pimps, what does that make us? It is all about the money, the profits. It is really not at all about taking care of the patient anymore.