Generic Cisplatin

There are generic versions of cisplatin available, as all of the patents for the brand-name medication have expired. In fact, once generic cisplatin products became available, the brand-name medicine eventually stopped being sold. The FDA has determined that the generic forms of cisplatin are equivalent to the brand-name medication.

Cisplatin Chemotherapy Drug Information

Is There a Generic Version of Cisplatin?

Cisplatin is a prescription chemotherapy medication. It is approved for treating bladder cancer, testicular cancer, and ovarian cancer. It is a platinum chemotherapy medication that is given intravenously (by IV).

In addition to being a platinum analogue, it also belongs to a larger group of chemotherapy drugs known as alkylating agents. Cisplatin kills cells (including cancer cells and normal cells) by causing abnormal linkages in DNA, the genetic material of cells. This is known as cross-linking.

Cisplatin was originally sold under the brand name "Platinol^®" or "Platinol^®-AQ" by Bristol-Myers Squibb. It was first approved by the United States Drug Administration (FDA) in 1989. However, the patents for cisplatin have expired, and the medication is available in generic form.

In fact, Bristol-Myers Squibb has stopped making brand-name Platinol, probably due to the low demand for the brand-name product once the generic versions became available.

Is Generic Cisplatin as Good as Platinol?

All generic medications must undergo certain tests to compare them to brand-name medications. The FDA then looks at these tests to decide if the generics are equivalent to the brand-name medications and assigns a rating to each one.

An "AP" rating means that the FDA has determined that a generic medication is equivalent to a brand-name medication. All of the generic cisplatin products currently available have an "AP" rating, meaning they should be equivalent to Platinol. However, generic medications are allowed to have different inactive ingredients than the brand-name medication.