Content about Generics

ALLEGAN, Mich. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug from Perrigo and Cobrek Pharmaceuticals for treating scalp conditions.

Perrigo said that Cobrek, with which it is partnering, had received approval for betamethasone validate foam in the 0.12% strength. The drug is a generic version of Luxiq foam, made by GlaxoSmithKline subsidiary Stiefel Labs, and is used to treat corticosteroid-responsive skin conditions of the scalp, also known as scalp psoriasis.

The branded version of the drug has annual sales of about $40 million, according to Perrigo.

PASADENA, Calif. — Automated phone and mail reminders increase the likelihood that patients with new prescriptions for cholesterol-lowering drugs will pick them up from the pharmacy, according to a new study.

Kaiser Permanente Southern California enrolled 5,216 patients and found that those receiving an automated reminder were 1.6 times more likely to fill prescriptions for statin drugs than those who didn't receive reminders. The study was published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine Monday.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — Indian generic drug maker Wockhardt received three new drug approvals from the Food and Drug Administration, agency records show.

Each year, we say good-bye to the current year and welcome in the New Year full of hope and aspirations for a successful year ahead. Customers turn out in droves for “New Year, New You” specials and when they reach the register, the retail pharmacy world knows the scenario quite well. In a few short weeks’ time, you and your staff will be asking these all too familiar questions, “Did you have any insurance changes? Did you have a change in benefits?  Did you know your brand drug is now available in generic?” and so on.

NEW YORK — Canada's federal government has allowed the approval process for a generic opioid painkiller to go forward despite objections from provincial and other authorities, according to published reports.

The Associated Press reported that Canadian health minister Leona Aglukkaq turned down requests from provincial and aboriginal tribal authorities to delay approval of a generic version of Purdue Pharma's OxyContin (oxycodone). OxyContin will lose its patent protection in Canada on Sunday.

In the classic Arabian Nights tale “Aladdin and the Magic Lamp,” the sorcerer who sold Aladdin the lamp containing the genie attempts to get it back by walking through the town where Aladdin and his wife live disguised as a merchant, trading “new lamps 
for old.” 


Rubbing pill bottles isn’t likely to bring forth any genies ready to grant three wishes, but the idea of inputting something old and outputting something shiny and new is sort of the gist behind 
branded generics.


Perhaps the iconic scene at the end of Ridley Scott’s 1991 movie “Thelma & Louise” — with Gina Davis’ and Susan Sarandon’s characters hurdling into the Grand Canyon in a green convertible — is a good metaphor for what’s happening in the generic drug industry these days.


At some point in their lives, most people learn the old lesson about things that look too good to be true, sometimes by hearing it from others, and other times from 
bad experiences.


NEW YORK — Spurred by health reform and other factors, a "golden era" could be approaching for drug companies as they reinvent themselves, according to a new report by PwC.

The report, "Pharma 2020: From Vision to Decision," said that the industry was on the verge of an era of renewed productivity and prosperity, but its success was not guaranteed.

PITTSBURGH — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a generic drug made by Mylan for treating pulmonary arterial hypertension, the drug maker said Tuesday.

Mylan announced the FDA approval of sildenafil citrate tablets in the 20-mg strength, a generic version of Pfizer's Revatio. The drug is used to treat adults with PAH to improve exercise ability and delay clinical worsening of the condition.

Revatio had sales of about $339 million during the 12-month period ended in September, according to IMS Health.

NEW YORK — The launch of a tamper-resistant formulation of a popular opioid painkiller in the United States, but not in Canada, may have influenced a spike in dispensing rate of the original at pharmacies in Canadian border cities, according to a study.

CINCINNATI — Procter & Gamble and Teva Pharmaceutical on Monday gained European Union approval for a joint venture on the sale of nonprescription medicines to be called PGT Healthcare, according to published reports. 

According to the reports, the joint venture didn't raise competition concerns. P&G will have a 51% stake in the venture.