Generic Desloratadine: An Overview
Desloratadine (
Clarinex®) is a prescription medication that has been licensed to treat several conditions. These desloratadine uses include:
- Relief of seasonal allergy symptoms (hay fever)
- Relief of indoor allergy symptoms
- Treatment of chronic (long-term) hives and itching.
Desloratadine is manufactured by Schering and is currently protected by a patent that prevents any generic desloratadine from being manufactured. Despite this, search the Internet for "generic desloratadine" and you will find a number of companies selling it. The fact is that these medicines are fake, substandard, and potentially dangerous. You should not buy any generic desloratadine until there is an approved generic form available.
When Will There Be a Generic Desloratadine?
Currently, the earliest listed patent for Clarinex currently expires in December 2014. It should be noted that a lawsuit concerning
generic Clarinex has already occurred and has been settled. In the settlement agreement, GeoPharma, Inc. will be allowed to sell a generic Clarinex no later than July 2012.
Is Desloratadine a Generic Clarinex?
No, it isn't. Desloratadine is the active ingredient in Clarinex, not a generic version of it. It's easy to confuse the terms "generic name" and "active ingredient" because of the tendency to refer to any drug's active ingredient as its generic name. But a medicine's active ingredient is different from its generic version. For there to be a generic version, the original medicine must have gone off-patent and another company besides the original manufacturer must have made the product.
