The true sales data for the stimulant Modafinil is not precisely known at this time.
But we know that Sun Pharma has clearly been making some big bucks in the past few years.
Especially after it was revealed that they paid $150 million to the makers of Provigil to settle a pay-for-delay case in 2017.
That article alludes to the idea that this lawsuit “ate their profits” – but we’re not so sure about that after looking at the projected number of modafinil sales based on the data we have.
$150 million may just be a drop in the bucket for Sun Pharma.
Modafinil is a medicine that clears the mind and makes you feel fresh and energized.
And it works through dopamine and other neurotransmitter mechanisms in the brain.
It is Spark as a substitute for coffee for late-night work and chronic fatigue.
Coffee, which sells more than 100 million cups a day, is the usual helper of choice for Americans who brighten up the night for shoppers, midnight shift workers, college students, long-distance truck drivers, and computer programmers, but things have changed since 1998.
As Cephalon’s prescription drug Modafinil, sold under the name of Provigil, quietly begins to change their lives, sales of this drug, which has yet to be identified as to how it works, are skyrocketing.
Users say that taking this medicine will keep you alert and alert for hours or even days, but you will be able to sleep again when you try to sleep(unlike other drugs like amphetamines).
As the number of users is expected to continue to increase as the side effects are only a slight headache and mild nausea, concerns are also raised about the future of the American society, which is obsessed with achieving as much as possible and working super hard.
Concerned that a serious illness could be overlooked if competent doctors prescribe only this drug to a patient complaining of fatigue without finding out the cause, scientists are concerned that reducing even one hour of sleep at night, which protects and restores physical and mental health, has a long-term negative effect on the nervous and circulatory system. I am warning you that this is crazy.
Modafinil, which discovered by intelligent French researchers in the late 1970s, first appeared on the US market in 1998 as a treatment for narcolepsy and later in 2003 it was approved for shift work sleep disorder.
These are both serious sleep disorders.
Then, earlier this year, the Federal Food and Drug Administration expanded its use to include temporary respiratory arrest during sleep and sleep disorders caused by shift work, when the airway is narrowed or blocked.
However, very few cases are used for these three purposes. According to Cephalon, 90% of all prescriptions are used for other purposes, such as fatigue, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and drowsiness caused by other prescription drugs.
Last year, three U.S. track and field athletes were found with the drug, which was banned by the Olympic Committee.
A group of scientists are testing the drug to see if it can be used as an appetite suppressant in obese patients and as a treatment for drug addiction because it blunts cocaine-induced high moods.
There is also a government-sponsored study that suggests a possibility for certain other conditions.
Doctors are most attracted to the drug’s safety. It was used in France for several years before being sold in the United States, but there were no major problems, and only about 1% of people complained of side effects such as nausea, mild headache, and anxiety in clinical trials. However, scientists point out that the widespread use of any drug can lead to more serious side effects.
In 2003, worldwide sales of modafinil were $290 million, up from $207 million in 2002.
Now in 2023 we are looking at some of the latest data.
This link from ClinCalc shows a lot of good graphs on Modafinil including the number of prescriptions, number of patients, and other metrics.
The total number of modafinil prescriptions in the USA in 2020, according to ClinCalc.com, was 1,056,221.
Currently, there are many people who cannot eat it because a monthly supply of meals costs about 150 dollars, but it is almost a known fact that in the near future, if other pharmaceutical companies succeed in challenging Cephalon’s patent and selling it as a generic drug, the price will become cheaper and more people will use it. It is being accepted.
So, Cephalon has developed a drug called Nuvigil that has more long-lasting effects following Provigil’s generation, while also hoping to get approval as a treatment for attention deficit disorder, which is the most common behavioral disorder among children.
Of all the questions surrounding modafinil, one of the most puzzling is that despite more than 25 years of research, scientists have yet to figure out what it does to the brain. Researchers know that this drug is distinctly different from common stimulants.
Things like cocaine and amphetamines sharpen the mind and make you feel good and addictive at the same time, but this drug has none of those side effects.
However, scientists are warning that chronic sleep deprivation due to frequent use of this medicine and chronic sleep deprivation weakens the immune system, increases the likelihood of getting sick, and shortens lifespan.
But in a country where about 100,000 highway traffic accidents occur each year due to drowsiness-induced misjudgment, some experts argue that people who have to drive their cars to work despite falling asleep are compelled to give drugs.
If you stay awake for 17 hours, your chance of making a mistake is equal to a blood alcohol level of 0.045, and if you stay awake for 20 hours, the probability of making a mistake is 0.07, which is just below the regulatory standard in many states.
These are big concerns when we are thinking about just how big the modafinil market is – which is something we’re not completely sure of.
Because the sales numbers are not completely known at this time.
