Content about Organic chemistry

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Generic drug maker Actavis has reached a deal with AstraZeneca that will allow it to launch a version of a drug used to treat cholesterol in three years, Actavis said Monday.

Under a deal to settle a patent-infringement lawsuit, Actavis will be allowed to launch its generic version of Crestor (rosuvastatin calcium) tablets in the 5-mg, 10-mg, 20-mg and 40-mg strengths 67 days before July 8, 2016, when the drug's market exclusivity for use in children expires, at a fee of 39% of net sales to AstraZeneca.

PITTSBURGH — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a generic treatment for bronchospasm made by Mylan, the drug maker said Monday.

Mylan announced the approval of levalbuterol inhalation solution in the 0.31 mg/3 mL, 0.63 mg/3 mL and 1.25 mg/3 mL strengths. The company has begun shipping the product.

The drug is a generic version of Sunovion's Xopenex inhalation solution, which is used to treat bronchospasm in patients ages 6 years and older with reversible obstructive airway disease.

BEDMINSTER, N.J. — The Food and Drug Administration will decide in late August whether to approve an experimental opioid painkiller made by QRxPharma, the drug maker said Thursday.

Australia-based QRxPharma is seeking approval for Moxduo (morphine and oxycodone), and the FDA plans to decide whether to approve the drug on Aug. 26.

NEW YORK — Target is expanding its retail clinic presence in the Chicago area, according to published reports.

The Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday that the mass merchandise retailer would open three clinics — two in the suburbs and one in the city. Construction is scheduled to start on May 28, and grand openings are planned for Aug. 18. The Target on Division Street, scheduled to open in October, will also have a clinic.

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — Amneal Pharmaceuticals has started shipping a drug used to treat opioid dependence, the company said Tuesday.

The generic drug maker announced the shipment of buprenorphine hydrochloride and naloxone hydrochloride dihydrate sublingual tablets in the 2-mg/0.5-mg and 8-mg/2-mg strengths. The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug in February.

The drug includes a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy, or REMS, a program required by the FDA to ensure that its benefits outweigh its risks.

PEAPACK, N.J. — Greenstone has launched an authorized generic version of a drug used to treat cholesterol.

Greenstone, the generics arm of Pfizer, announced the launch of authorized generic atorvastatin calcium tablets in the 10 mg, 20 mg, 40 mg and 80 mg strengths, in bottle sizes ranging from 90 to 1,000. The drug is a version of the parent company's cholesterol drug Lipitor.

An authorized generic is a brand marketed under its generic name at a reduced price.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug made by Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals for treating tumors of the digestive system, the agency said Monday.

The FDA announced the approval of Stivarga (regorafenib) for gastrointestinal stromal tumors that could not be removed through surgery or had spread to other parts of the body and were no longer responding to treatment with Novartis' Gleevec (imatinib) or Pfizer's Sutent (sunitinib).

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new treatment for late-stage breast cancer, the agency said Friday.

The FDA announced the approval of Genentech's Kadcyla (ado-trastuzumab emtansine) for HER2-positive breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body. HER2 is a protein involved in the growth of normal cells but found in increased amounts in some kinds of cancer cells, which contributes to cancer cell growth and survival. Genentech is the U.S. subsidiary of Swiss drug maker Roche.

FOSTER CITY, Calif. — Drug maker Gilead Sciences has recalled a single lot of an injected drug used to treat an opportunistic infection in AIDS patients due to the presence of foreign matter in some vials, the company said.

Gilead announced the voluntary recall of lot B120217A of Vistide (cidofovir), an injected drug used to treat cytomegalovirus retinitis in patients with AIDS, due to particulate matter.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration has accepted the resubmission of a regulatory approval application from United Therapeutics for a drug to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension, the drug maker said Thursday.

The FDA originally declined to approve the drug, treprostinil diolamine extended-release tablets, in a letter submitted to the company in October 2012.

The agency plans to decide whether or not to approve the drug in March of this year, United Therapeutics said.

STAMFORD, Conn. — An insomnia drug made by Purdue Pharma "significantly" reduced the time it took patients to return to sleep after they'd woke up in the middle of the night, according to a new study.

The placebo-controlled study, published in the journal Sleep, tested the drug Intermezzo (zolpidem tartrate) sublingual tablets on 295 adults with primary insomnia and difficulty returning to sleep after waking up in the middle of the night. Purdue said Intermezzo was the only drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treating such patients.