Generic form of Synthroid offers new choice
June 1, 1997
Generic form of Synthroid offers new choice
Synthroid, Dilantin, Premarin, Lanoxin. These are the sacred cows of the pharmaceutical industry, the drugs for which there are no equals when it comes to generics. But now, California investigators say that one of these drugs Synthroid is safely replaceable with cheap, generic levothyroxine.
The researchers studied the effectiveness of Synthroid and its generics in 22 women with hypothyroidism, using a technique so simple it’s a wonder no one’s done it before. Each subject took two different generics and two brand names Synthroid and Levoxyl for equal periods of time. When thyroid function was measured, the researchers found no significant differences between the drugs.
Ironically, Boots Pharmaceuticals maker of Synthroid financed the study nine years ago, assuming it would show Synthroid superior to other thyroid replacements. When it didn’t, Boots used a variety of legal tactics to prevent publication of the study results, says the editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Boots apparently feared publication of the study would hurt sales of Synthroid, which is a reasonable fear, given that eight million Americans use thyroid replacements, a market worth perhaps half a billion dollars.
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