Modafinil is sold in these different formulations:<br /><br />Provigil <br />(United States, United Kingdom, Italy, South Korea)<br /><br />Vigil<br />(Germany)<br /><br />Modalert<br />(India)<br /><br />Modavigil<br />(Australia, New Zealand)<br /><br />Alertec or Vigicer<br />(Canada)<br /><br />Modiadal<br />(Mexico, France, Sweden)<br /><!--more--><br />Cephalon Press Release, 2005<br /><a href="http://stocks.us.reuters.com/stocks/fullDescription.asp?symbol=CEPH.O&WTmodLOC=L2-LeftNav-8.5-FullDescription">http://stocks.us.reuters.com/stocks/fullDescription.asp?symbol=CEPH.O&WTmodLOC=L2-LeftNav-8.5-FullDescription</a><br /><br />"Outside of the United States, modafinil is approved in more than 30<br />countries, including France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy and<br />Germany, for the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness associated<br />with narcolepsy. In certain of these countries, Cephalon also has<br />approval to market modafinil to treat excessive daytime sleepiness in<br />patients with OSA/HS and/or SWSD."<br /><br />Cephalon Press Release, 2002<br />"Cephalon Announces Modafinil Receives Marketing Clearance In<br />Australia, New Zealand and South Korea"<br /><a href="http://www.cephalon.com/newsroom/news_reader.aspx?ID=330060">http://www.cephalon.com/newsroom/news_reader.aspx?ID=330060</a><br /><br />Worldwide, most of these forms (including Vigil, Modiadal, and<br />Modavigil) are manufactured and sold by Cephalon Inc. However,<br />Modalert is sold by Sun Pharmaceuticals in India and Alertec is sold<br />in Canada by Draxis Health.<br /><br />These countries require a prescription:<br /><br />United States<br />United Kingdom (but with lesser restrictions than the United States)<br />Canada<br />Germany (same restrictions as United States; illegal to possess<br />without a prescription or license)<br />Australia <br />New Zealand<br />France<br />South Korea<br /><br />-----------<br /><br />Cephalon's patent on the drug expired in 2006. When a drug patent<br />expires, makers of generics often rush to the forefront and capture<br />business from the original drugmaker. However, this has not happened<br />yet due to an interesting court case begun by Cephalon. Four<br />companies applied to the US FDA for approval to market generic<br />versions of Provigil and they were all granted approval to make the<br />generics. Cephalon filed suit against all these companies for patent<br />infringement and the companies all settled out of court, in what some<br />have seen as a form of blackmail.<br /><br />United Senior Action<br />"Help Challenge Drug Industry Attempts to Keep Generics off the Market"<br /><a href="http://www.usaindiana.org/challenge.cfm">http://www.usaindiana.org/challenge.cfm</a><br /><br />"The case, which was filed in June 2006, claims that Cephalon, the<br />brand name manufacturer of Provigil, conspired with generic drugmakers<br />Teva, Ranbaxy, Barr and Mylan to keep generic versions of Provigil off<br />the market. The case alleges that when Cephalon's exclusive marketing<br />rights were set to expire, the generic companies applied for FDA<br />approval to market generic versions of the drug. Although the FDA<br />determined that each company had developed safe, effective and<br />bioequivalent generic versions of Provigil, they could not begin<br />marketing the drugs because Cephalon filed patent infringement<br />lawsuits against them.<br /><br />Although they had strong arguments for invalidating Cephalon's patent<br />for Provigil, all four generic companies settled their cases with<br />Cephalon. Under these settlement agreements, each generic company<br />agreed to keep their generic versions of Provigil off the market until<br />2011 or 2012, in exchange for cash payments. The three payments to<br />Teva, Ranbaxy and Barr alone totaled up to $136 million."<br /><br />Apotex, another generic drugmaker, has sued all the parties involved<br />alleging monopolistic practices.<br /><br />"Apotex Accuses Cephalon and Four Generic Drug Companies of<br />Monopolizing the U.S. Market for Provigil"<br /><a href="http://www.orangebookblog.com/2006/07/apotex_accuses_.html">http://www.orangebookblog.com/2006/07/apotex_accuses_.html</a><br /><br />-----------<br /><br />Provigil's sales (Cephalon)<br />2005-- $500 million<br />2004-- $289 million<br />2003-- $200 million<br />2002-- $150 million<br />2001-- $75 million<br /><br />More than a million people have been prescribed Provigil in the United<br />States; since it is primarily approved for narcolepsy and there are<br />only 150,000-200,000 narcoleptics in the US, people are not just<br />taking it for narcolepsy but to remedy other sleep disorders. In<br />2004, the drug was approved for use with other sleep disorders such as<br />sleep apnea. At one point, it was being prescribed at the rate of<br />250,000 every three months.<br /><br />"The Great Awakening:<br />With a Pill Called Modafinil, You Can Go 40 Hours Without Sleep -- and<br />See Into the Future"<br />By Joel Garreau<br />Washington Post Staff Writer<br />Monday, June 17, 2002<br /><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A61282-2002Jun16¬Found=true">http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A61282-2002Jun16¬Found=true</a><br /><br />'There are only 125,000 to 250,000 narcoleptics in the United States.<br />Cephalon brags that hundreds of thousands of patients have taken<br />Provigil, with over a million prescriptions written as of 2001, and<br />sales soaring. Nonetheless, Cephalon spokesman Sheryl Williams says<br />that "we are not aware of any significant prescribing of the drug for<br />nonmedical conditions."'<br /><br />In Cephalon's latest earnings call in October, the company reported<br />sales of $186.5 million for Provigil in the United States in the<br />previous three-month quarter and sales of $11 million in Europe, for a<br />combined total of $197.6 million in sales in three months. This<br />compared to a year earlier, when total earnings for that quarter were<br />$134 million combined. This meant that sales of Provigil increased by<br />almost 50% in the course of one year.<br /><br />For the nine months ending on September 30, 2006, Provigil experienced<br />$494.5 million in sales in the US and $29 million in Europe, a 44%<br />increase from the year before.<br /><br />The full balance sheet released by Cephalon can be seen here:<br /><br />MSN Money<br /><a href="http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?feed=PR&Date=20061102&ID=6163626">http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?feed=PR&Date=20061102&ID=6163626</a><br /><br />Sales of Provigil are expected to increase even more:<br /><br />Philadelphia Daily News<br />"Cephalon earnings more than double"<br /><a href="http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/business/15915834.htm">http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/business/15915834.htm</a><br /><br />'"Provigil is on track to become our first billion-dollar product,"<br />said Frank Baldino Jr., founder and chief executive officer of<br />Cephalon, referring to the company's treatment for narcolepsy,<br />obstructive sleep apnea, and shift-work sleep disorder. Provigil<br />prescriptions were up 18 percent in the latest quarter, with sales of<br />$197.6 million.'<br /><br />-----------<br /><br />Vigil-- Germany<br /><br />"Vigil" is simply a shortened version of the name Provigil, and Vigil<br />is marketed by Cephalon, the same company that markets the drug in<br />America under the Provigil moniker. It has been available in Germany<br />since 1998.<br /><br />Cephalon Press Release<br />"Cephalon Receives Approval to Market Modafinil for Shift Work Sleep<br />Disorder in Germany"<br /><a href="http://www.cephalon.com/newsroom/news_reader.aspx?ID=750715">http://www.cephalon.com/newsroom/news_reader.aspx?ID=750715</a><br /><br />I could not find individual reports of sales in Germany or other<br />European countries, but instead all European numbers as seen above.<br /><br />-----------<br /><br />Modalert-- India<br /><br />Some buyers of modafinil have stated that the Indian version,<br />Modalert, which is distributed by Sun Pharmaceuticals, is not as<br />effective as other forms of modafinil such as Provigil, manufactured<br />by Cephalon. The following thread clarifies why this may be:<br /><br />"Re: PROVIGIL"<br /><a href="http://www.drugbuyers.com/freeboard/showthreaded.php?Number=312423">http://www.drugbuyers.com/freeboard/showthreaded.php?Number=312423</a><br /><br />-------------<br /><br />Alertec-- Canada<br /><br />Alertec was made by Shire Pharmaceuticals in Canada until this year,<br />when Shire was divested by its parent company, Draxis Health, and<br />Draxis retained the rights to make and sell Alertec.<br /><br />BioSpace-- Draxis Health Press Release<br /><a href="http://www.biospace.com/news_story.aspx?StoryID=20049020&full=1">http://www.biospace.com/news_story.aspx?StoryID=20049020&full=1</a><br /><br />-------------<br /><br />Where do people buy it? How do they buy it? <br /><br />Most people who take modafinil have a prescription. Ninety percent of<br />the prescriptions are for off-label usage-- to combat sleep<br />deprivation and other ailments. With a prescription, modafinil can be<br />readily obtained from any pharmacy or chemists'. Like any<br />prescription drug, it can also be bought at online pharmacies, which<br />may or may not have more competitive prices. Provigil is expensive.<br /><br />If you are in the United States, Provigil is a Schedule IV controlled<br />substance, which means it's illegal to import it from a foreign<br />source. In other countries, it is not considered a controlled<br />substance and is not illegal to buy from other sources.<br /><br />One thing a buyer of modafinil will find is that Provigil is more<br />expensive than Alertec or Modalert, the foreign forms of the drug.<br />This is because, while the different formulations are chemically the<br />same, Canadian and Indian manufacturers of the drug use different pill<br />shapes and formulas that are not covered under Cephalon's US patent.<br />Because they are "generics," although not official generics, Alertec<br />and Modalert are generally less expensive than Provigil.<br /><br />Here are some places from which people have bought Provigil<br />successfully (with the recommendations I found):<br /><br />Good Health Pharmacy<br /><a href="http://www.goodhealthpharmacy.com/new/catalog/product_info.php?ref=1&products_id=618&affiliate_banner_id=1">http://www.goodhealthpharmacy.com/new/catalog/product_info.php?ref=1&products_id=618&affiliate_banner_id=1</a><br /><br />from:<br />"Modalert/Provigil CHEAP!"<br />topix.net<br /><a href="http://www.topix.net/forum/health/narcolepsy/T5G91I20L8QQNE68F">http://www.topix.net/forum/health/narcolepsy/T5G91I20L8QQNE68F</a><br /><br />Quality Health-- UK<br /><a href="http://www.qhi.co.uk/list.asp">http://www.qhi.co.uk/list.asp</a><br /><br />Biogenesis--<br />sells three different forms of modafinil<br /><a href="http://www.biogenesis-antiaging.com/advanced_search_result.php?search_in_description=1&keywords=modafinil&osCsid=6e324d4476e5bdd256f25eee7f9f3492&x=0&y=0">http://www.biogenesis-antiaging.com/advanced_search_result.php?search_in_description=1&keywords=modafinil&osCsid=6e324d4476e5bdd256f25eee7f9f3492&x=0&y=0</a><br /><br />Modalert at Jan Drugs<br /><a href="http://www.jandrugs.com/momex/NavCode/drugs/DrugName/Provigil">http://www.jandrugs.com/momex/NavCode/drugs/DrugName/Provigil</a><br /><br />Other recommendations from the Imminst.org thread are:<br />Freedom Pharmacy (Modalert)<br /><a href="http://freedom-pharmacy.com/Products2.asp?Brand=MODALERT+%28Modafinil%2CProvigil%29&T=m">http://freedom-pharmacy.com/Products2.asp?Brand=MODALERT+%28Modafinil%2CProvigil%29&T=m</a><br /><br />Pharma-Orders<br /><a href="http://www.pharma-orders.com/advanced_search_result.php?osCsid=8612ccc28983aaef6d530636d20a1cb6&keywords=modafinil&osCsid=8612ccc28983aaef6d530636d20a1cb6&x=0&y=0">http://www.pharma-orders.com/advanced_search_result.php?osCsid=8612ccc28983aaef6d530636d20a1cb6&keywords=modafinil&osCsid=8612ccc28983aaef6d530636d20a1cb6&x=0&y=0</a><br /><br />Sun Pharma-- Modalert<br /><a href="http://www.sunpharma.com/sunpharma-products/sunpharma-formulation/spopup13.php">http://www.sunpharma.com/sunpharma-products/sunpharma-formulation/spopup13.php</a><br />
