Generic Meridia

Generic Version of Meridia – It is available?

Meridia® (sibutramine hydrochloride monohydrate) is a weight loss aid available only on prescription. It works by signaling the brain that the stomach is full thereby suppressing appetite. It has been approved in helping people to lose weight as well as to keep off weight already lost. Meridia should be taken only in combination with a low calorie diet.

Meridia is manufactured by Abbott Laboratories. Presently, it is under patent protection that restricts generic versions of the same to be manufactured in the United States. However, if you conduct an internet search for Generic Meridia, you could see a list of numerous companies that sell it. Such drugs could be fake, below quality or possibly harmful.

Generic products could be available in other countries but there is no way of ascertaining if the Meridia is genuine or not. Hence, you should refrain from buying generic versions of Meridia unless it has been approved.

Generic Version of Meridia – When will it be available?

In November 2007, the original patent for Meridia expired. But, the present patent that expires in January 2013) protects Meridia from manufacture of generic versions. When the original patent reached its expiration, there were no generic companies that challenged the 2013 patent. At the present, it seems that there will not be any generic versions of Meridia till at least 2013. However, this may change in case any generic manufacturers decide to officially challenge the present 2013 patent before it expires.

Sibutramine – Is it a Generic Version of Meridia?

Sibutramine is not a generic version of Meridia but is an active ingredient present in Meridia. It could be confusing at times as usually the active ingredient of a medicine is referred as the generic name. It should be noted that the generic name is not the same as the generic version of a medication. For a generic version of a medicine to exist, the, the patent of the original medicine must have expired and some other company as opposed to the original manufacturer must manufacture the product.