The launch of generic valsartan, which is manufactured by Actavis in Bulgaria and Malta, follows the patent expiries in the respective European countries on 12 and 13 November.

The angiotensin II inhibitor, which is used to treat high blood pressure, has been marketed by Actavis in Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Sweden and UK – many of Western Europe’s biggest markets.

Valsartan is the generics equivalent of Novartis’s anti-hypertensive Diovan brand-name drug. The generic drug from Actavis has already been launched in various other markets where the patents expired earlier.

According to IMS Health data, sales of Diovan in Europe were more than Euros 548 million (US$752.7 million) for the year ending June 2011, while Diovan HCT sales for the same period were over Euros 701 million.

With its run of product launches recently Actavis has also announced that it will expand its production facilities in Hafnarfjordur, Iceland, which manufactures 95% of the company’s generic products. The expansion will increase production capacity at the site by 50% to about 1.5 billion tablets per year.

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