Comment: Converting Patients from Brand-Name Clozapine to Generic Clozapine

Abstract

In a recent issue of The Annals (2001;35:281-4), Sajbel et al. reported that converting patients from brand-name clozapine to generic clozapine was safe and cost-saving. In their study, the switch appears to be decided by the pharmacy and therapeutics committee, with no possibility of a patient's refusal.In France, patients can refuse to have a brand-name drug converted to a generic one, even if the physician agrees to the switch. We conducted a study 1 addressing the difficulty in obtaining the patient's agreement to the switch. Fourteen outpatients with a prescription for brand-name clozapine were asked by a clinical pharmacist to be converted to generic clozapine. All accepted, nine of them without reserve, five after explanation of the switch (>15 min).Thus, it appears that the patient's preference is not an obstacle for a switch to generic clozapine.

Switching from Brand‐Name to Generic Psychotropic Medications: A Literature Review

“…Seventy‐three percent of 106 patients on atypical antipsychotics questioned in an hypothetical pharmacy setting stated they would likely not take their medication if it had been substituted for a generic by their pharmacist [94]. However, in a French study [95], 14 outpatients on Clozaril were asked by a pharmacist about switching to generic clozapine; nine patients accepted without reserve, whereas the five others required at least 15 min of explanation.…”