Ever wonder which drug 
makes more sense for you to purchase from online pharmacies? Well, the Wall Street Journal reports that the drug company Cephalon Inc. has launched a marketing campaign to encourage users of its its best-selling drug, Provigil, to switch to a new and improved version of the drug, called Nuvigil.
Provigil (modafinil) is prescribed for the treatment of narcolepsy, shift work sleep disorder (SWSD), and daytime sleepiness associated with sleep apnea.
According to the Journal:
Nuvigil is chemically similar to Provigil, but Cephalon says its effects are longer-lasting than Provigil. The drugs weren’t tested head-to-head in clinical efficacy trials, but Cephalon says the drugs were compared in terms of concentrations in plasma.
To encourage people to switch to Nuvigil, Cephalon is selling it at an 11% discount to Provigil, or an average of $8.98 per pill, said Mike Derkacz, vice president of the central-nervous system therapeutic business at Cephalon.
In addition, Cephalon is offering a prescription savings program for Nuvigil. Under the program, Cephalon will pay for up to $50 in monthly out-of-pocket costs for Nuvigil, bringing the cost down to a floor of $10. For many patients, with an average co-pay of roughly $40, this will lower monthly copays to $10.
Those sound like pretty good reasons to try out Nuvigil. But is switching from Provigil to Nuvigil the best option for you — either financially or from a health standpoint?
It’s important to keep in mind the drug company’s self-interested motives for introducing these incentives.
Nuvigil has patent protection through 2023, while Provigil will face generic competition in the United States beginning in 2012. From a business standpoint, the “new and improved” drug is a means for Cephalon to extend monopoly pricing for another nine years.
Let’s look at the numbers. Nuvigil could well cost $8.98 or more per pill for the next decade. Generic versions of Provigil, on the other hand, will likely cost a tiny fraction of that when they become available in less than three years.
Dr. Ed Zimney, for one, doesn’t seem to think Nuvigil is worth the higher price. He explains:
When a drug company has a successful product, they get very concerned when it gets close to the time for patent expiration because it means that cheap generic equivalents will soon appear. There are any number of strategies that companies use to protect their interests in this situation, and one of the most common is to take a look at the drug’s chemistry to see if there’s anything there to exploit. One possibility is to reformulate the product into something that lasts longer than the original, so you’ll see things like extended-release or controlled-release formulations being developed. Another typical strategy is to look at the drug’s chemical forms, called isomers.
Without getting too deeply into it, many chemicals have two isomers and in many cases only one of them is actually active. So a common strategy is to see whether a new drug can be created that contains only the active isomer. You’ve probably heard of Nexium (”the purple pill”), which is the active isomer of what was previously sold as Prilosec. There are many other examples.
So the people at Cephalon were starting to worry about their patent on Provigil because there were a number of lawsuits pending from generic drug manufacturers eager to get the rights to sell it. And it turns out that Provigil does have two isomers. In this particular case, they are both active, but one is eliminated from the body much more quickly than the other, so essentially the activity really comes from one isomer. Hence the development of Nuvigil, the longer-acting isomer formulation of Provigil.
I should emphasize that the evidence that Nuvigil is “longer-acting” than Provigil is not cut and dry. As the Journal noted, the drugs were never tested against each other in clinical efficacy trials.
But the FDA doesn’t require Cephalon to show that Nuvigil is “new and improved” — only that it’s different and safe. In terms of safety, Nuvigil did well in clinical trials. The most common side effects included headache, anxiety and dizziness. Additionally, in some cases, Nuvigil caused serious rashes and/or allergic reactions.
So, that’s the story of Provigil and Nuvigil. We’ll leave it to you and your doctor to decide which drug (and which price) makes sense for you to purchase.
“Reduce Your Medication Costs By Half So You Can Pocket the Rest – Or Your Money Back!”
Start saving money with your first order! 
This patient assistance program provides brand name medications (Provigil and Nuvigil) at no or low cost – better than a coupon! Hope this helps guys…let me know how this works out  |
| Pharmaceutical Company |
CephalonCares Foundation |
| Program Name |
CephalonCares Foundation Patient Assistance Program |
| Program Address |
6900 College Blvd., Ste 1000
Overland park, KS 66211 |
| Phone Number |
877-237-4881 |
| Fax Number |
877-438-4404 |
| Medications on Program |
Provigil 1 (modafinil) |
| Application Forms |
Click here for the Provigil & Nuvigil patient assistance application form from the CephalonCares Foundation.
You can download the same application here as well: http://cephalon.com/cephaloncares-foundation/download-application/ |
On-line Application
|
No on-line application available at this time |
| Web Site |
Click to go to program’s web site |
| Eligibility Guidelines and Notes |
The patient can have no public or private prescription insurance and have an income at or below 300% of the Federal Poverty Level. Medical diagnosis necessary for this program is not specified. The patient must be a US citizen or legal resident. If patient is eligible for Medicare but did not enroll, then they are not eligible for this program. A 30 day supply voucher for Fentora is sent to the patient. |
| Application Process |
Anyone can call to get an application faxed out. The application can be either faxed or mailed out upon request. The completed application can be faxed or mailed back. |
| Application Requirements |
The doctor must fill out a section and sign the application. The patient must fill out a section, sign the application and attach proof of income. |
| Program Details |
Up to a 90-day supply is sent to the patient’s home. |
| Last Updated |
November 20, 2009 |
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