Generic PrandiMet

At this time, unexpired patents prevent any generic PrandiMet (repaglinide and metformin) from being manufactured in the United States. The patent on PrandiMet itself does not expire until 2018. However, the patent on the repaglinide part of the drug is set to expire in March 2009, and the metformin part is already off patent. It will probably be decided in the courts whether drug makers will be allowed to make a generic version of PrandiMet before 2018.

PrandiMet Drug Information

An Overview of Generic PrandiMet

PrandiMet™ (repaglinide and metformin) is a prescription diabetes medication. It contains two medications and is approved to treat type 2 diabetes in people whose blood sugar levels are not adequately controlled by using either medication alone (or who are already taking both medications).

PrandiMet is made by Novo Nordisk, Inc. It is currently under the protection of a patent that prevents any generic PrandiMet from being manufactured in the United States.

When Will a Generic Be Available?

The first patent for the repaglinide (Prandin^®) component of PrandiMet currently expires in March 2009. There are no unexpired patents for the metformin component of PrandiMet. There is a patent for PrandiMet itself that expires in June 2018. It is not entirely clear which patent is most important, in terms of predicting when a generic may become available. Certainly, generic manufacturers that would like to make generic PrandiMet will assert that only the 2009 patent is important, while the manufacturer of PrandiMet will insist that the 2018 protects the drug from any generic competition until that date. It is likely that this potential dispute would be settled in the courts.

Is Repaglinide or Metformin a Generic Version of PrandiMet?

No -- repaglinide and metformin are the active ingredients in PrandiMet, but they are not generic versions of PrandiMet.

What can be confusing is that, oftentimes, the active ingredient of a drug is referred to as the "generic name." The generic name is different from a generic version of a medicine. In order for there to be a generic version of a medicine, the original medicine must have gone off patent, and another company besides the original manufacturer must make the product.