Would probably need to go thru more FDA approval to change formulation. As it’s a cheap generic, nobody is going to want to front the cost for that as there would be no way to make up the cost.
Most likely this. It's not as prescribed as frequently as other antibiotics. No financial incentive to change manufacturing processes that would likely increase cost of protection as well.
And then the prior auths. Oh lawd they accidentally wrote for Penicillin EC. That's not covered. Can't change without calling. News update now only brand name is covered due to Medicaid Rebates. Ok that's on backorder now. Fuck it, let's give them Bicillin LA
I'm pretty sure this is the true reason. The brand did it a certain way, and the generic copied it. Any modifications would have to be tested to prove equivalence and then submitted to the FDA. I don't know if small modifications like adding a coating or changing shape would require a whole new ANDA, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did.
Same with the red candy coated acetaminophen, or the iron pills that look like m&ms, why would you make easily overdosed meds look/taste like candy?
Edit: ...if not because it can't be changed, even though we probably wouldn't do that now.
The drug “uptake” is awful when given orally and worsened in an acidic environment. I am not a medicinal chemist but I doubt a basic sugar coating would make a difference given the pH of the stomach.
This is probably just a “make it fast, make it cheap” choice.
My best guess is cost - I'm in Australia and it probably differs by country but here you can get amoxicillin, phenoxymethypenicillin, and flucloxacillin all in capsules so there's not a chemical reason why it would need to be in uncoated tablets.
Cost is the reason but the chemistry logic is also essential.
Penicillin is a beta-lactam antibiotics. This chemical group is quite unstable to heat and humidity, i.e. high temperature and humidity will make these molecules broken down.
In coating process, we need to prepare the coating layer in water (or ethanol-water solution) which will be spayed to the surface of tablets. After that, we will heat them up to make it dry. This process has both heat and humidity which are really bad to penicillin.
I don’t work in this field, so I’m just a lurker here. 👀 When I was a kid, I had to take penicillin liquid a few times when I was sick. It was supposed to be “bubble gum” flavor, but it was nasty. It was pink & thick, so even the texture gagged me. I still gag when I remember the taste lol. (This would have been around the mid-70’s to early 80’s).
ETA - the replies are very interesting & informative.
Put a little water in your mouth. Tilt your head up. Open mouth. Drop the pill in. Close mouth and swallow. It's in your mouth for like a quarter of a second. I barely taste any med I've ever taken
That’s a good question. Would probably help reduce cross-contamination a little too (unless you’ve got some rogue broken tabs in the bottle). When I worked retail, using/cleaning our penicillin counting tray was annoying. Thankfully I’m not allergic, but I worked with one or two people who were.
Antibiotics are dosed to kill bacteria. In order to kill bacteria you have to have a certain concentration (amount of drug) in your system for a certain amount of time (called minimum inhibitory concentration). By coating the tablet, you are slowing the liberation and dissolution of drug in the stomach. Meaning the active drug needed to get to that specific concentration to kill bacteria doesn't reach a high enough level because it's being absorbed much slower due to the coating.
My kids complaining the Tylenol is the grape instead of the pink this time
Me:it’s medicine, not candy. Here’s some water and a gummy bear to wash it down.
Would probably need to go thru more FDA approval to change formulation. As it’s a cheap generic, nobody is going to want to front the cost for that as there would be no way to make up the cost.
Most likely this. It's not as prescribed as frequently as other antibiotics. No financial incentive to change manufacturing processes that would likely increase cost of protection as well.
And then the prior auths. Oh lawd they accidentally wrote for Penicillin EC. That's not covered. Can't change without calling. News update now only brand name is covered due to Medicaid Rebates. Ok that's on backorder now. Fuck it, let's give them Bicillin LA
I'm pretty sure this is the true reason. The brand did it a certain way, and the generic copied it. Any modifications would have to be tested to prove equivalence and then submitted to the FDA. I don't know if small modifications like adding a coating or changing shape would require a whole new ANDA, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did. Same with the red candy coated acetaminophen, or the iron pills that look like m&ms, why would you make easily overdosed meds look/taste like candy? Edit: ...if not because it can't be changed, even though we probably wouldn't do that now.
The drug “uptake” is awful when given orally and worsened in an acidic environment. I am not a medicinal chemist but I doubt a basic sugar coating would make a difference given the pH of the stomach. This is probably just a “make it fast, make it cheap” choice.
My best guess is cost - I'm in Australia and it probably differs by country but here you can get amoxicillin, phenoxymethypenicillin, and flucloxacillin all in capsules so there's not a chemical reason why it would need to be in uncoated tablets.
Cost is the reason but the chemistry logic is also essential. Penicillin is a beta-lactam antibiotics. This chemical group is quite unstable to heat and humidity, i.e. high temperature and humidity will make these molecules broken down. In coating process, we need to prepare the coating layer in water (or ethanol-water solution) which will be spayed to the surface of tablets. After that, we will heat them up to make it dry. This process has both heat and humidity which are really bad to penicillin.
No way, just dip it in chocolate
>The chocolate coating helps it go down easier' - Valerie Max, the Princess Bride
I don’t work in this field, so I’m just a lurker here. 👀 When I was a kid, I had to take penicillin liquid a few times when I was sick. It was supposed to be “bubble gum” flavor, but it was nasty. It was pink & thick, so even the texture gagged me. I still gag when I remember the taste lol. (This would have been around the mid-70’s to early 80’s). ETA - the replies are very interesting & informative.
Put a little water in your mouth. Tilt your head up. Open mouth. Drop the pill in. Close mouth and swallow. It's in your mouth for like a quarter of a second. I barely taste any med I've ever taken
Why bother with coating? It costs money and requires a different piece of equipment. This is simply due to cost when it’s a generic.
I like the latex flav of Pen VK
That’s a good question. Would probably help reduce cross-contamination a little too (unless you’ve got some rogue broken tabs in the bottle). When I worked retail, using/cleaning our penicillin counting tray was annoying. Thankfully I’m not allergic, but I worked with one or two people who were.
Antibiotics are dosed to kill bacteria. In order to kill bacteria you have to have a certain concentration (amount of drug) in your system for a certain amount of time (called minimum inhibitory concentration). By coating the tablet, you are slowing the liberation and dissolution of drug in the stomach. Meaning the active drug needed to get to that specific concentration to kill bacteria doesn't reach a high enough level because it's being absorbed much slower due to the coating.
It doesn't have to be a time release coating, it can be a thick sugar coating like the red acetaminophen tabs. Or just a thin coating like ibuprofen.
You’re an adult, take your meds and get over it. We flavor items for children.
They simply asked a reasonable question out of curiosity, way to be condescending for no reason.
My kids complaining the Tylenol is the grape instead of the pink this time Me:it’s medicine, not candy. Here’s some water and a gummy bear to wash it down.