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Mylan in and out of hot water

Home/Pharma News | Posted 18/03/2011

On 26 January 2011 Mylan, the second-largest US generics manufacturer, announced a truce with global pharma giant Pfizer, which will enable the former to sell generic versions of the cholesterol drug Lipitor (atorvastatin) and combination blood pressure and cholesterol treatment Caduet (amlodipine/atorvastatin).

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Valeant acquires generics’ manufacturer PharmaSwiss

Home/Pharma News | Posted 11/03/2011

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International and PharmaSwiss announced on 1 February 2011 that they had signed a binding agreement for Valeant to acquire generics’ manufacturer PharmaSwiss for Euros 350 million. Valeant expects the deal to strengthen its presence in Central and Eastern Europe.

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Rights to Allegra acquired by generics’ manufacturer Perrigo

Home/Pharma News | Posted 10/08/2010

On 29 June 2010, Perrigo announced that it had acquired the exclusive US rights to sell and distribute OTC versions of Fexofenadine HCl 180 mg and 60 mg tablets, plus Fexofenadine HCl 60 mg and Pseudoephedrine 120 mg tablets, the generic versions of sanofi-aventis’ Allegra and Allegra D-12 products. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries currently has prescription (Rx) approval for these products, and Teva and sanofi-aventis have settled their Paragraph IV litigation.

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Perrigo buys Paddock for US$540 million

Home/Pharma News | Posted 04/03/2011

Perrigo Company may not be a household name, but nevertheless life is exciting for a medium-sized company in the pharmaceuticals world. Undeterred by a pending FDA warning letter about its Michigan facility, Perrigo recently entered into a definitive agreement to take over Paddock Laboratories in a cash deal worth Euros 394 million.

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Teva increases stake in Mediwound to 51%

Home/Pharma News | Posted 11/02/2011

Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical Industries is increasing its stake in biotechnology company MediWound Ltd to 51% under a multi-tiered deal to develop and commercialise products to treat burns and wounds.

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Ranbaxy’s profits soar, but US ban still looms

Home/Pharma News | Posted 04/02/2011

The generics’ giant and India’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturer, Ranbaxy, has reported strong results for the third quarter of 2010, but concerns remain about the US import ban that is still in place on many of the firm’s generics.

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Cost of new drug challenged

Home/Pharma News | Posted 21/01/2011

An editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) issue of 23 September 2010 took the unusual position of challenging a study published in the same issue.

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Pfizer buys 40% stake in Brazilian generics’ manufacturer Teuto

Home/Pharma News | Posted 21/01/2011

Pfizer, the world's biggest pharma company, is increasing its stake in emerging markets, with its announcement on 20 October 2010 that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a 40% stake in Brazilian generics’ manufacturer Laboratorio Teuto Brasileiro (Teuto) for US$240 million.

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China’s booming pharmaceutical market attracts R & D

Home/Pharma News | Posted 14/01/2011

China, which is approximately the size of the US, but with five times the population, has long been off-limits for global pharma due to its complex regulations, low healthcare expenditure and its seemingly unenforceable intellectual property laws. However all that has apparently changed according to a Reuters analysis, which shows that China is grabbing an increasing share of the global R & D budget, with investigators launching new studies to help understand how to treat the country’s huge population and tap into one of the fastest growing pharma markets on the planet.

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Safe supplies consortium hard at work

Home/Pharma News | Posted 14/01/2011

Perhaps frustrated at the length of time required for action on counterfeit drugs by the EMA or the FDA, and the limited powers of each of these bodies, a group of individuals got together last year to do things their own way. The Interim Director of Rx‑360, a new non-profit international pharmaceutical consortium, was Mr Martin Van Trieste, Vice President of quality for Amgen.

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Daiichi Sankyo pursues a global strategy

Home/Pharma News | Posted 07/01/2011

In Japan, Daiichi Sankyo has won its first worldwide marketing approval. The drug is laninamivir - long-acting neuraminidase inhibitor. The firm will market the drug as Inavir.

Fresh directions for Sinobiomed

Home/Pharma News | Posted 10/12/2010

Sinobiomed Inc announced the appointment of a new President and Chief Executive Officer on 2 September 2010. Mr George Yu completed his education in Germany and the US. Under his experienced guidance the company hopes to move swiftly on the following strategic initiatives:

FDA generics division officer joins Teva

Home/Pharma News | Posted 03/12/2010

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has added to its team Mr Gary Buehler, former head of the generics division at the FDA, The Wall Street Journal reported. Mr Buehler joins Teva as vice president of regulatory strategic operations.

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Endo acquires US generics’ giant Qualitest

Home/Pharma News | Posted 26/11/2010

Endo Pharmaceuticals is buying US generics’ giant Qualitest Pharmaceuticals for about Euros 850,000 in cash to expand its portfolio of pain drugs. This is its second acquisition in as many months; last month it acquired Penwest Pharmaceuticals for just over Euros 100 million. Shares in US-based Endo were on the rise following the news.

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Bristol-Myers Squibb looking stronger than expected

Home/Pharma News | Posted 19/11/2010

Plavix (clopidogrel bisulfate), which prevents blood clots in patients at risk of heart attack or stroke and is the world's second biggest-selling prescription drug, loses US patent protection in November 2011. Bristol-Myers Squibb markets the drug in the US, while its partner sanofi-aventis sells it in other countries. Bristol-Myers got almost a third of its 2009 revenue from Plavix—Euros 4.6 billion out of a total of Euros 14.1 billion—and is racing to find new drugs to fill the gap.

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Mylan granted US restraining order over sales of paroxetine

Home/Pharma News | Posted 12/11/2010

Generics’ giant Mylan Laboratories was granted a US court order in September 2010 prohibiting Apotex, a Canadian pharma company, from selling paroxetine. The order also prohibits GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) from supplying Paxil CR (paroxetine extended-release tablets) to Apotex. Mylan has an exclusive agreement to sell a copy of GSK’s Paxil CR. If GSK were to authorise additional sales of generic paroxetine this would undercut sales and cause an “irretrievable loss of market share and customers” for generic Paxil CR, a Mylan spokesman said.

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Spotlight on Bosnia

Home/Pharma News | Posted 08/11/2010

In today’s global business environment, companies battle for position all over the world. Today Bosnia’s pharmaceutical industry is making the headlines, with a battle to invest in the leading company, Bosnalijek.

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Teva bruised in Copaxone fight

Home/Pharma News | Posted 29/10/2010

Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) is generic’s giant Teva Pharmaceutical Industries’ proprietory multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment, which netted the company Euros 1.17 billion in the first half of 2010. This success story, however, is now tainted with allegations that Teva performed an unethical clinical trial.

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Sun Pharma finally wins battle for Taro

Home/Pharma News | Posted 08/10/2010

On 21 September 2010 India-based generics manufacturer Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (Sun Pharma) announced that it had acquired a controlling stake in Israel generics’ firm Taro Pharmaceuticals Industries after a prolonged legal battle.

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AstraZeneca expands its generics business with Indian agreements

Home/Pharma News | Posted 01/10/2010

In line with its continued mission to supply branded generics to emerging markets, such as Africa and Latin America, AstraZeneca has entered into yet another agreement with an Indian generics firm.