Search Form

  • Home
  • Insights
  • GSK Consumer Healthcare Requests Halt of Excedrin Sale & Teva Pharmaceuticals Releases Generic Truvada
Workers' Comp

GSK Consumer Healthcare Requests Halt of Excedrin Sale & Teva Pharmaceuticals Releases Generic Truvada

October 20, 2020
2 MIN READ

Excedrin Lots

On October 7, 2020, GSK Consumer Healthcare requested retailers halt sales of certain Excedrin lots. According to GSK, the request was made “due to the possibility of holes in the bottles that have been supplied by the bottle manufacturer.”

The following products (in 50, 80, 100, 125, 200, 250 and 300 count) are affected:

  • Excedrin Migraine Caplets/Geltabs
  • Excedrin Extra Strength Caplets
  • Excedrin PM Headache Caplets
  • Excedrin Tension Headache Caplets

Products not affected by the request are:

  • Excedrin Extra Strength Caplets (24-count bottle)
  • Excedrin Migraine Caplets/Geltabs (24-count bottle)

As most of these products are sold as over-the-counter medications, Mitchell Pharmacy Solutions does not expect a large impact to workers' compensation or auto casualty programs. We will continue to monitor the overall impact of the halt of sale request.

Generic Truvada

Additionally, on October 7, 2020, Teva Pharmaceuticals, the makers of Truvada, announced the first generic for Truvada. Truvada, a combination of emtricitabine and tenofovir, is an antiretroviral drug that is used to manage HIV1 infections and for HIV1 pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Truvada can also be used along with other anti-HIV drugs for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) shortly after possible exposure to an HIV infection.

In workers' compensation, the Official Disability Guidelines (ODG) recommends the use of Truvada along with Isentress (raltegravir) for use in PEP cases. Many state workers' compensation formularies also include conditional coverage of specialty drugs for PEP. Workers' compensation cases typically involve inadvertent workplace exposures such as needle stick or bodily fluid exposure in healthcare, laboratory, public sanitation and emergency response settings.

Teva Pharmaceuticals has an exclusive right to market the generic product for six months until the brand patent expires, wherein competitors may launch their own generic products. We expect this to create a modest reduction in cost for those first six months and subsequently a larger reduction when additional products enter the market.

Mitchell Pharmacy Solutions will continue to monitor this situation and work with our clients to adjust formularies as necessary.

For any questions on this alert, please contact your Client Services Manager.