US uptake of Boehringer Ingelheim's Mirapex ER for Parkinson's disease will be inhibited by generic pramipexole

In the USA, the uptake of German drug major Boehringer Ingelheim's pramipexole ER, the once-daily formulation of its market leading dopamine agonist Mirapex that was approved earlier this month, will be inhibited by competition from generic pramipexole which became available earlier this year.

According to the new Formulary Forum report entitled Formulary Advantages in Parkinson's Disease: Which Clinical Endpoints Will Drive Uptake of Emerging Agents?, more than half of surveyed pharmacy directors expect to require patients to fail a generic medication before reimbursing pramipexole ER.

The report - from Fingertip Formulary - also finds the majority of surveyed pharmacy directors will require new treatments to demonstrate improvement in motor symptoms, disease modification or reduction of motor response complications for reimbursement equal to current brands. Surveyed pharmacy directors are least influenced by more convenient formulations.