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Generic Ambien
All generic forms of Ambien currently available have been assigned an "AB" rating, which means that they should be equivalent to the brand-name medication. Generic Ambien is available in two strengths (5 mg and 10 mg) and is manufactured by a number of companies (including Apotex and Actavis Elizabeth).
Ambien® (zolpidem tartrate) is a medication that is used to treat short-term insomnia in adults. Ambien is manufactured by sanofi-aventis. However, the patents for Ambien have expired, and generic versions of the drug are now available.
Generic Ambien tablets are available in the following strengths:
- Zolpidem 5 mg
- Zolpidem 10 mg.
Generic Ambien is made by the following manufacturers:
- Actavis Elizabeth
- Apotex
- AuroBindo Pharma
- Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories
- Dr. Reddy's Laboratories
- Genpharm, L.P.
- Mutual Pharmaceutical
- Mylan Pharmaceuticals
- Prasco Laboratories
- Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals
- Roxane Laboratories
- Sandoz Pharmaceuticals
- Synthon Pharmaceuticals
- Teva Pharmaceuticals
- Watson Pharmaceuticals
- Wockhardt Americas.
All generic medications must undergo certain tests to compare them to brand-name medications. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) then looks at these tests to decide if the generics are equivalent to the brand-name medications and assigns each generic a rating. An "AB" rating means that the FDA has determined that a generic medication is equivalent to a brand-name medication. All of the generic zolpidem versions currently available have an "AB" rating, meaning they should be equivalent to Ambien.
However, generic medications are allowed to have different inactive ingredients than the brand-name medication. This might include fillers or dyes or other ingredients that may cause problems for people with allergies or sensitivities.
Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD