Miracle Cure

I have taken Plavix (clopidogrel) every day for years, and have complained about it the whole time. 

I have said with only slight exaggeration that a butterfly could land on my arm and cause a bruise, and that the drug makes me look like a victim of spousal abuse.  My doctor just shrugs and tells me to wear long-sleeved shirts.

If you are not familiar with the drug, it is an anti-clotting agent which is prescribed to reduce the chance of heart attacks and strokes. Bristol-Myers Squibb made a ton of money from Plavix ( it was the second most prescribed drug on earth in 2007, and their 2009 sales were $6.6 Billion) but their patent finally ran out and the FDA approved generic versions of the drug in May of 2012.

The cost differential was huge – for example, a month’s supply of Plavix brand pills at Wal-Mart is $232 while the generic clopidogrel costs $8.49 – so I switched to the generic last fall. The new pills are the same 75mg dose, and even look the same, but they are manufactured somewhere in India.

Last week, I commented to my wife that I didn’t seem to be bruising nearly as much on the generic.  We discussed it and decided maybe it wasn’t working as well.  I even left a voice-mail at the doctor’s office expressing our concern.

Then this past weekend, I got out and did some yard work – clearing dead branches out of our azalea beds – and today my arms look as ugly and abused as ever. 

It turns out our fears were unfounded, and the whole thing was a false alarm.  Lack of activity (and wearing long sleeves and jackets during cold weather) had minimized the bruising for the last few months.