If you reach for Lunesta, that is. That’s because Sepractor just hiked the price of its sleeping pill by 9 percent. This follows a 9 percent price hike last November. It’s true what they say - it’s not easy being an insomniac.

A pharmacist tells Pharmalot that the average wholesale price for 100 pills is now $480.00, up from $440.16 a few days ago, and his acquistion cost, which is now $373.00, had been $343.00. Bottom line - he expects to pass along the price to his customers, who will probably pay $145.00 or so for a three months’ supply.

The reason for the price increase - generic Ambien. In an investor note this week, John LeCroy, an analyst at Natexis Bleichroeder, wrote that Lunesta is running below his sales estimates. The drug added 1.8 percent in total scripts since generic Ambien arrived, but Reuters reports, the gains are due to a recent drop in generic Ambien prescriptions and not a pick-up in Lunesta scrips.

Of course, the same pharmacist still sells a month’s supply of generic Ambien for just $39.95…The sad truth - for those who really want Lunesta, finding a way to pay for this pill could keep some people awake at night.