Cash relief in store for allergy sufferers

[TexasStooge]

By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA ABC 8

Serious savings may be in store for millions of allergy sufferers—just in time for springtime pollen relief.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved fluticasone propionate, a generic version of Flonase nasal spray.

Normally, we wouldn't do a report on a generic drug's debut, but this is a big deal. Flonase has $1.2 billion in worldwide sales, and allergies hit especially hard in North Texas.

On a rainy evening, with mountain cedar pollen in the air, Henry Rieken ventured into a pharmacy for the relief that Flonase provides.

"It's a little expensive for nasal spray," he said, "but it's worth it, because it cleared me up for the rest of the day."

Rieken and millions of allergy sufferers may soon be paying a lot less for the generic equivilent of Flonase, the nation's most popular nasal spray.

"For those wo have insurance, it means that their co-pays would go from a brand co-pay of like $30 to $45 down to $5 or $10," said pharmacist Jermy Johnson.

The savings are just as significant for people without health benefits.

One bottle of Flonase costs about $95 at one local pharmacy. Generics often cost a quarter of the brand name price.

"If they're generic, it means accessibility for some people who are cash-paying customers," Johnson said.

GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of Flonase, went to court this week seeking to block shipment of generic versions of its formula.

A federal judge granted a 10-day restraining order on Friday, effectively blocking sales of the generic spray.

Dawn Plante, a spokeswoman for Roxane Laboratories, said her company has halted shipments of its Flonase clone, but said she expected the restraining order would be lifted after a hearing on March 6.

If that happens, the generic drug could be in local pharmacies soon thereafter.