Most health insurance plans encourage their subscribers to use the generic versions of drugs for their prescriptions in place of the name brand. However, the generic form of the antiepileptic drug Keppra, levetiracetum, is causing some patients who have been seizure free on Keppra to experience serious side-effects. Patients that were once seizure free are experiencing breakthrough seizures that have, in some cases, caused death. In addition, switching patients from Keppra to levetiracetum puts them at risk while driving or operating machinery.
The FDA’s abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) requires that manufacturers of generic equivalents submit information that shows the generic is bioequivalent to the brand name drug. However, the regulations state that the generic only need be equivalent in active ingredients. The binders, fillers, and diluents in the drug can be different from the brand name which is why so many patients that are seizure free on Keppra are no longer seizure free when they are switched to the generic drug, levetiracetum.
Sheller, P.C. is evaluating cases involving injuries resulting from being switched from Keppra to the generic drug, levetiracetum. Please contact Sheller, P.C. at 1-800-883-2299.
The Legal Examiner and our Affiliate Network strive to be the place you look to for news, context, and more, wherever your life intersects with the law.
Comments for this article are closed.