Production of Prozac, an antidepressant, would end globally at the end of this year, drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co said in a press release yesterday after announcing in August that the drug would soon be withdrawn from the Taiwan market.
The decision to end production of the drug is based on an adjustment of its corporate strategy, the Taiwan branch of the US multinational firm said.
Medical professionals have been asked to suspend prescribing Prozac to new patients and assist them to prescribe alternatives, the company added.
Photo courtesy of the Federation of Taiwan Pharmacists Associations
Prozac is a brand name for fluoxetine.
The company’s Prozac Dispersible 20mg product accounted for 15.3 percent of the domestic market, with 2.92 million tablets covered by National Health Insurance (NHI) last year, Ministry of Health and Welfare data showed.
Food and Drug Administration Deputy Director-General Wang Te-yuan (王德原) said that Eli Lilly and Co on June 24 notified the agency that it would stop providing Prozac in Taiwan from next month.
However, the drugmaker stopped domestic supply early, ending it last month, Wang said.
There are other antidepressants with similar ingredients produced by local drugmakers, including Chunghwa Yuming Healthcare Co, he said, adding that those companies have already said they would ramp up production if clinical demand makes it necessary.
Prozac first entered the market nearly 40 years ago and the market share of generic versions in Taiwan has reached 85 percent, National Health Insurance Administration official Tai Hsueh-yung (戴雪詠) said.
There are 11 generic alternatives that are covered by the NHI, Tai said.
It is normal for pharmaceutical firms to retire brands from the international market after their patents expire, with cheaper generic drugs taking their place, Tai said.
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