Generic Aricept Prices Ready to Drop (Donepezil)

This is good news for existing Alzheimer's patients, and the over 1,200 new patients, on average, being diagnosed with Alzheimer's each day...

By Bob DeMarco
Alzheimer's Reading Room

Last November, the patent for Aricept (Donepezil) expired. This lead to an average 36 percent drop in Aricept prices as the generic came on to the market. Recently, branded generic Aricept was available at a prices near $150 for a 30 day supply.

On May 26, the FDA six month exclusivity period for generic manufacture ended. This means the market is open for any pharmaceutical company to apply for and receive permission from the FDA to manufacture and market generic Aricept (Donepezil).

See these update.

Generic Donepezil, Aricept, $27 for 90 days from Costco

Donepezil (Aricept) Price Falls by 90 Percent

An important aspect of this news is simple and straightforward. Many people who cannot afford Aricept will now be able to purchase the drug.

More importantly, the lower price for Aricept will now allow more patients to receive the combination treatment of Aricept and Namenda. See -- The Combination of Aricept and Namenda Helps Slow the Rate of Decline in Alzheimer's Patients.


Several new companies have received approval from the FDA to sell the generic.

• Sandoz has launched generic versions of treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, the generic pharmaceuticals division of Swiss drug maker Novartis said Wednesday.
• Teva Announces Launch of Generic Aricept in the United States
• Actavis' generic Aricept gets FDA nod

New lower prices for generic Aricept should be coming to the retail market soon based on the higher level of competition and the increase in the number of companies manufacturing and selling the drug.

I will start checking retail outlets in south Florida soon.

If you have any information on lower Aricept prices in your market please let us know.

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Bob DeMarco is the Founder of the Alzheimer's Reading Room and an Alzheimer's caregiver. The blog contains more than 2,680 articles with more than 512,100 links on the Internet. Bob lives in Delray Beach, FL.

Original content Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room