Content about IMS Health

HYDERABAD, India — Indian generic drug maker Aurobindo has received two approvals from the Food and Drug Administration.

The company said Wednesday that it received approval for galantamine tablets in the 4-, 8- and 12-mg strengths. The drug is a version of Johnson & Johnson’s Alzheimer’s treatment Razadyne; various versions of the drug had sales of $41 million during the 12 months ended in September 2010, according to IMS Health.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens announced on Tuesday record sales and earnings for the second quarter as it celebrated a milestone of filling 1-in-every-5 retail prescriptions for the first time in the company's history.

Net earnings for the quarter were $739 million, or 80 cents per diluted share, compared with $669 million, or 68 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

A whole slew of drugs will lose patent protection this year, opening up opportunities for generic drug makers to market their own versions. Most notable among these is Pfizer’s cholesterol-
lowering drug Lipitor (atorvastatin), the world’s top-selling drug, with U.S. sales of $7 billion during the 12 months ended September 2010, according to IMS Health.


As soon as members of Congress took their seats last month, the new Republican majority announced it would make good on its pledge to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The effort largely is symbolic and unlikely to succeed, so at least one portion of the healthcare-reform law will likely remain in effect, namely the abbreviated approval pathway for follow-on biologics, also known as the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act.


SUPPLIER NEWS — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a generic drug made by Watson Pharmaceuticals for cancer-related breakthrough pain, Watson said. The drug is a generic version of Cephalon’s Fentora, which had sales of around $179 million during the 12-month period ended in November 2010, according to IMS Health.


NEW YORK — Healthcare market research firm IMS Health will buy privately held market research firm SDI Health, IMS said.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but the deal would bring together two of the leading healthcare analytics companies. In terms of drug industry analytics, IMS focuses on drug sales and dispensed prescriptions, while SDI provides data on prescriptions written by physicians and other prescribers.

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. — Generic drug maker Par Pharmaceutical has begun shipping its version of a treatment for heart rhythm problems, the company said Monday.

Par announced the shipment of propafenone SR capsules, a treatment for atrial fibrillation in patients without structural heart disease.

The drug is a generic version of GlaxoSmithKline’s Rhythmol SR, which has annual sales of around $121 million, according to IMS Health.

NEW YORK — More than 25% of children and teens take at least one medication on a daily basis, and nearly 7% are on two or more drugs, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing 2009 data from Medco Health Solutions. Drawing additional data from IMS Health, the article noted that prescriptions for hypertension in people under the age of 20 years could reach 5.5 million for 2010 by the time year-end results are tabulated, which would mark a rise of 17% since 2007. 

HYDERABAD, India Indian generic drug maker Dr. Reddy’s Labs has launched a version of an asthma drug for the U.S. market, the company said.

Dr. Reddy’s announced the launch of zafirlukast tablets in the 10-mg and 20-mg strengths. The drug is a version of AstraZeneca’s Accolate, which had sales of $50 million during the 12-month period ended in August, according to IMS Health.

The world of generic drugs has a big year ahead of it. Actually, it has a few big years ahead of it. But 2011 in particular carries a certain symbolic value as the year in which Pfizer, the world’s biggest drug maker, loses control of its patent for the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium), the world’s top-selling drug.

NEW YORK Loss of patent protection for branded drugs and subsequent competition from generics could save the U.S. healthcare system $70 billion or more over the next four years, according to published reports.

Reuters reported IMS Health SVP Murray Aitken as saying at the Reuters Health Summit that generics also would increase their dominance in terms of prescriptions dispensed, increasing from 77% during the first half of this year to perhaps 85% by 2014.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The drug industry is undergoing a major paradigm shift. Companies that traditionally have relied on blockbuster drugs are finding that model running dry as their biggest money-makers face competition from generics that eventually will lead to a heavily commoditized market for the disease states that have been the foundation for the model, such as high cholesterol, asthma, mental illness and gastroesophageal reflux disease.