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Does Shire make a generic lialda?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 12/16/2019 12:27 PM (GMT -6)
Insurance won’t cover my son’s brand name lialda and wants to switch him to Apriso. I’m thinking switching him to generic lialda (i would pay out of pocket but can afford if generic) would be less of a change than switching to Apriso but i’ve seen a lot of posts on here with concerns about the lialda generic coating. Some posts mentioned that Shire (Who makes lialda) also makes their own generic but is it distributed under a different company name? I’d like to try to at least get the shire generic in the hopes that its the most similar. ideas?
Posted 12/16/2019 12:40 PM (GMT -6)
In the world of pharmacies, everything is identified using NDC Codes. If you call/goto yours and mention these, then they should be able to tell you whether the medicine is in-stock, can be ordered, or cannot be ordered.

Shire Brandnamed Lialda: NDC Code(s): 54092-476-01
https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/druginfo.cfm?setid=3098a080-be86-4265-9818-7fc4beab77b7

Shire Generic Lialda: NDC Code(s): 54092-100-01
https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/druginfo.cfm?setid=4e3b6325-a5bf-4c47-931c-142c0e4d7c3a

Links include pictures of the labels, both say Shire, one says Lialda, the other just says mesalamine.

There's other generic manufacturers, with different propriatary delayed-release coatings. Zydus, Mylan, Teva Pharmaceuticals, and others.
Posted 12/16/2019 12:43 PM (GMT -6)
There is a Shire generic, and it is produced under the Shire name. But it is VERY hard for me to get. I couldn't get it through my mail order pharmacy, and my local pharmacy has to special order it and last time I tried to order it they told me it is on backorder indefinitely, so I switched back to the brand name bottle.

That said, there are other Lialda generics not produced by Shire, that are virtually identical to Shire's brand name Lialda. Zydus & North Star are a couple examples of the names of the manufacturers. The delivery mechanism varies ever so slightly but is very close to brand name Lialda in terms of its release profile and effectiveness.

That said, none of the Lialda generics are that much less expensive than the brand so if you are going to be paying out of pocket for them, that may be an issue.
Posted 12/16/2019 12:48 PM (GMT -6)
Toward that end, here's a list of them all. Note I searched for mesalamine so it includes suppositories, enemas, and oral pills. There is a lot of manufacturers of mesalamine now.
https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?labeltype=all&query=mesalamine
Zydus has an ethacellulose coating, that is very different from everything other than pentasa (zydus generic lialda). Most others are some variation of MMX, plastic coating as Lialda does. Subtle differences, will they matter? Who knows, small chance.
Posted 12/16/2019 12:53 PM (GMT -6)
To give you a sense based on my insurance claim rates.

Lialda brand name was $1100 for 30 day supply
Shire generic was $800 for 30 day supply

I believe Zydus and the other non shire generic lialda's are in the same cost vicinity as the shire generic.
Posted 12/16/2019 6:40 PM (GMT -6)
Thank you for all that good info. With GoodRx i can get a coupon for 50% off for the generic but no coupon for brand...so even out of pocket the generic is a better deal. But i do want to find one with the similar coating to brand name so sounds like i should avoid the Zydus and try to find one of the other generics maybe.
Thanks so much
Posted 12/17/2019 8:08 PM (GMT -6)
What is wrong with Apriso? I am convinced changing from lialda to Apriso along with some chinese herb and boswellia is what got me into remission after a 4 month flare. I am pretty sure the apriso granules are coated with something so they only dissolve in your gut inside the capsule. It was a $10 co pay instead of $700 for lialda. The genreic lialda made me want to puke.

Post Edited (kich) : 12/17/2019 7:11:50 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 12/17/2019 8:56 PM (GMT -6)
Well after the 4th appeal insurance has agreed to continue covering lialda (and even brand name at that) for the next two years. Thanks everyone for the advice. In response to Kich...there may be nothing wrong with Apriso (and appreciate the info that you found the coating preferable at least to generic lialda) but Lialda is what he has been taking, it works well for him, lots of people don’t respond well to the change from lialda to apriso, and so why should anyone (let alone a kid) have to take the risk of a switch or falling out of remission or simple having new adverse reactions, when there is no medical need for the switch? It is based 100% purely on an insurance company deciding which pharmaceutical company they want to contract with that particular year, and which they are then likely to switch again in another year. So that is why I appealed, and appealed again and again until they caved. I am currently doing the same appeals process for the fact that they don’t even want to cover calprotectin testing.
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