Key Findings

1. Lunesta and Ambien CR lead Lunesta and Ambien CR are the current leaders in tier 1 and 2 access for commercial plans with 35% availability each. Lunesta’s availability has experienced a sharp increase from its 13% availability in April 2007.
2. Lunesta and Rozerem gain ground Lunesta and Rozerem were the two key drugs which gained tier 1 and tier 2 access during the study period. Rozerem had a modest increase -- from 7% availability in January 2007 to 12% in April 2008.
3. Ambien’s patent expiration results in significant decline in availability As a result of patent expiration, Ambien experienced an expected rapid and significant decline in tier 1 and 2 availability starting in April 2007. The decline was rapid as Ambien lost over 50% of its access by August 2007, when its tier 1 and tier 2 availability was only 21%. By December of 2007, its availability had declined to 11%. Ambien CR’s availability varied during the study period, but ended April 2008 relatively unchanged when compared to April 2007.

Printable version

Collateral Formulary Access Impact in the Sleep Disorder Class due to Patent Loss for Ambien (PDF 314KB)

Archives

December 2007: Lack of Impact from Two Key Generics in the Anti-depressant Formulary Market

October 2007: Formulary Position Differences between Commercial and Medicare Plans

September 2007: Impact of Patent Loss for Zocor on the Statin Marketplace