The FDA has asked Impax Laboratories/Teva Pharmaceuticals to stop production and distribution of Budeprion XL 300 mg, a generic extended-release formulation of the antidepressant bupropion (Wellbutrin XL), because it has found that Budeprion XL 300 mg releases bupropion more rapidly than Wellbutrin XL 300 mg, the original brand name product. Patients switched from the brand name to the generic formulation have complained for years that the generic was less effective and caused more side effects than the original formulation. In 2007, ConsumerLab.com, an independent laboratory, conducted...

Bupropion (Wellbutrin - GlaxoSmithKline, and others) is a norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitor that has been a useful antidepressant because, unlike some other antidepressants, it does not cause sexual dysfunction, weight gain or sedation. Some patients who were switched from Wellbutrin to a generic alternative have reported worsening side effects and relapse of previously controlled depressive symptoms.1 Most of the complaints have come from patients switched from Wellbutrin XL 300 mg to the generic 300-mg formulation of extended-release bupropion marketed by Teva (Budeprion XL).2...