While Escitalopram was a subject to patent protection for a long time, recently the patent has expired and thus the Lexapro generic availability has significantly increased. To be more precise, the development of Escitalopram (Lexapro) has starter in 1997, and in 2001 Lundbeck and Forest have received the patent in the United States. In 2006, Teva has produced the first generic medication, but the expiration of the patent has happened only in 2012, when the wide range of Lexapro generic name and manufacturers have entered the market of the United States.
For more than three years, Lexapro generic equivalent has been available under the name of Escitalopram (active substance), produced by multiple companies. Just to mention a few: Amneal Pharms, Taro, Apotex Inc., Teva Pharms USA and many others. Due to a much more attractive price of generic Lexapro, such medications have become very popular among patients who needed long-term therapy (which is common for antidepressants like Escitalopram). However, there are uncertainties and doubts that many patients have regarding the effectiveness of generic Escitalopram, compared to the brand name medication. This article should make those clearer.
The first thing you want to do, looking for the difference between generic and brand Escitalopram (Lexapro), is to check out the user reviews. Fellow customers have no intention to write biased reviews, so generally you can trust those. While there are no separate ratings for generic / brand Escitalopram, the discussion about the best generic Lexapro is a regular subject of such reviews, and while some patients are not sure, asking for an advice what to buy, the ones who have tried both, confidently state that there is practically no difference between the generic and brand medication.
Reasonably noticing, that the compound of a generic and a brand Escitalopram is identical by all means, except for possible difference in auxiliary substances (biologically inactive), patients who have tried both generic and brand Lexapro mention, that you may have different reactions to different versions of the same drug. However, the active substance is the same, and thus the general effect of Lexapro is the same, independently of the manufacturer. Of course, it’s best to buy the medication from reliable suppliers, such as large online pharmacies, to get the high-quality and original medications. Nevertheless, generic and brand Escitalopram have equal ratings and similar user review statistics.
The sweetest thing about generic drug is the generic Lexapro cost without insurance. While brand medication can cost you $2.2 per tablet (or $124 for a 56-tablet pack), generic Lexapro is just $0.90 for one tablet, if you buy the 90 pills at once for $86. It’s a significant saving, keeping in mind that Lexapro generic dosage is identical to brand Lexapro dosage form. The bottom line is, if you want to pay extra for the brand name, you can buy brand Lexapro. If you want a reasonable price, stick to generic drugs once and for ever, because the only difference is the price.