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Epilepsy

Generic substitution: are antiepileptic drugs different?

Nature Reviews Neurology volume 5, pages 587–588 (2009)Cite this article

Generic drug substitution can markedly decrease the cost of health care. For conditions where agents have a relatively narrow therapeutic index, notably epilepsy, financial savings through generic substitution might be offset by increases in patient complications and related costs. Results from a study with topiramate support this view, particularly when a patient receives a drug from multiple manufacturers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Carl W. Bazil

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  1. Carl W. Bazil
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Correspondence to Carl W. Bazil.

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Competing interests

C. W. Bazil has acted as a consultant and on the speaker's bureau for Pfizer. He has also received research support from this company. He has acted on the speaker's bureau for GlaxoSmithKline and UCB Pharma.

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Bazil, C. Generic substitution: are antiepileptic drugs different?. Nat Rev Neurol 5, 587–588 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2009.162

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