4 ms·

I'm confused about this myself. I used to receive EpiPen brand auto-injectors. At some point, I started receiving Lineage Therapeutics auto-injectors (supposedl

I'm confused about this myself. I used to receive EpiPen brand auto-injectors. At some point, I started receiving Lineage Therapeutics auto-injectors (supposedly an Adrenaclick generic) instead. According to [0] they are _not_ equivalent to EpiPens according to the FDA. I'm not sure if my primary care physician or my old pharmacist (CVS chain) are at fault for not informing me of the differences. My generic prescription costs me, with insurance, $15 for two 0.3 mg autoinjectors. Insurance has covered four twin auto-injector packs (8 individual auto-injectors total) without any hassle. Either way, I have trained and informed myself on the proper use of the generic Adrenaclick auto-injector. From what I gather, the main differences are that there are two safety covers on both sides of the injector (instead of a cover on just the non-needle side) and the method of determining whether a dose was supposedly administered correctly (mainly, the EpiPen's needle cover is extended vs just observing an extended needle on the Adrenaclick). I am left to presume that their therapeutic effectiveness is the same, even though the FDA may not explicitly declare it as so. I will consult my physician and current pharmacist (local, non-chain pharmacy with excellent focus on patient care) to determine if I have any misunderstandings. I have also trained the people most likely to administer epinephrine to myself (family, friends, coworkers) the particular procedures of Adrenaclick administration, so I am not too worried about procedural differences between EpiPens and my generic auto-injector. Still, I am left wondering what the therapeutic difference between an EpiPen and a generic Adrenaclick alternative really is. I do understand that different administration procedures are a problem for training, but I would expect the actual therapeutic effects of both auto-injectors to be similar --- if used administered according to directions. [0]: http://www.pharmacytimes.com/p2p/p2pepinephrine-0910 http://www.pharmacytimes.com/p2p/p2pepinephrine-0910

stan_rogers 10y ago
They're not equivalent (that is, it can't be freely substituted by a dispenser) only because the devices are mechanically different. Knowing how to use an EpiPen doesn't mean knowing how to use an Adrenaclick, even if they are aministering the same drug in the same dose using more-or-less the same kind of mechanism. It's that "more-or-less" that's the key; since they differ in the way they're used and administration is quite time-sensitive, you can't assume that a person trained to use an EpiPen will be able to use an Adrenaclick properly when the time comes (or vice versa).

stan_rogers 10y ago

They're not equivalent (that is, it can't be freely substituted by a dispenser) only because the devices are mechanically different. Knowing how to use an EpiPen doesn't mean knowing how to use an Adrenaclick, even if they are aministering the same drug in the same dose using more-or-less the same kind of mechanism. It's that "more-or-less" that's the key; since they differ in the way they're used and administration is quite time-sensitive, you can't assume that a person trained to use an EpiPen will be able to use an Adrenaclick properly when the time comes (or vice versa).