Through May 18, the generic Ambien was the most widely prescribed sleeping pill, which is a pretty fast uptake, given the launch occurred on April 27. And there’s good reason - the average out-of-pocket cost was $16.08 compared with $33.69 for brand-name meds.

By last week, the generic captured 38 percent of all prescriptions and 66 percent of new scrips, according to Verispan, the market research firm. Predictably, most switching came from prior users of the brand-name Ambien, or 87 precent. But not all - 6 percent of Ambien CR patients switched, as did 3 percent of Lunesta users and 1 percent of Rozerem patients.

The vast majority of the sleep-deprived, or 90 percent, used some form of insurance, while 8 percent paid cash and 2 percent relied on Medicaid.

Source: Verispan

[tags]Ambien, Lunesta, Rozerem, Sleeping Pills[/tags]