Perindopril Erbumine and Perindopril Arginine are not equivalents; they're different active ingredients. At the time of the original switch, they were both covered by patents, and therefore no generics were available. The manufacturer discontinued P.Erbumine (which had some months left on the patent) to force people to switch to P.Arginine (newly patented). To add confusion, they used the same brand name for both.
Generics are now available for P.Erbumine; however, having once switched to P.Arginine, people may be reluctant to switch again, or simply not think to ask their doctor for it (the pharmacy can't do it — different active ingredient).
⇦ comment by kelsey | ⇨ comment by chookybo |
