Dive Brief:
- The price of digoxin -- a generic version of the heart drug Lanoxin -- has more than doubled in the past year.
- The cost rose even though digoxin is a very old drug prescribed millions of times per year.
- It comes after Covis began making an "authorized generic" of digoxin, one approved by Lanoxin's manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline. Other generic costss also have increased after an "authorized" version appeared on the market.
Dive Insight:
The increases also come as some generic manufacturers in India struggle with quality control issues, sometimes worsening the problem. Insurers, meanwhile, have begun requiring preapproval of even some common generics as prices have as much as tripled.