Content about Watson Pharmaceuticals

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Actavis is challenging Novartis' patent on a patch used to treat Alzheimer's disease, Actavis said.

The generic drug maker said it had filed with the Food and Drug Administration an amendment to its regulatory application for rivastigmine transdermal system to include the 13.3 mg-per-24-hours dosage strength, a generic version of Novartis' Exelon. Novartis filed suit against Actavis on Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware seeking to prevent commercialization of the generic version.

NEW YORK — The stakes are high in a case involving generic drug maker Actavis and the Federal Trade Commission that will soon go before the Supreme Court, the head of a generic drug industry lobbying group said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday.

The case, FTC v. Actavis, will go before the high court on March 25 and may decide the future of patent settlements between branded and generic drug companies. The Generic Pharmaceutical Association filed an amicus brief with the court last week defending the settlements as beneficial to consumers.

The battle over "pay for delay" continues to heat up, and its resolution likely won't come until the nation's highest court decides on the legality of the practice.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Watson Pharmaceuticals has formally changed its name to Actavis and changed its New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol to ACT, the company said Thursday.

The generic drug maker, now the world's third largest, announced its plan to change the name last year after it acquired Actavis. The combined company expects combined 2012 sales to exceed $8 billion.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a generic drug for heavy menstrual bleeding made by Watson Pharmaceuticals, the drug maker said Thursday.

Watson announced the approval of tranexamic acid tablets through a subsidiary and plans to ship it immediately. The drug is a generic version of Ferring Pharmaceuticals' Lysteda.

Ferring has filed suit against Watson, alleging that the generic drug infringes two of its patents. Lysteda had sales of about $25 million during the 12-month period that ended in November, according to IMS Health.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Watson Pharmaceuticals will present at two conferences sponsored by financial banks, the company said.

Watson said that president and CEO Paul Bisaro would provide an overview and update of the company's business at the 2013 Goldman Sachs "Healthcare CEOs Unscripted: A View from the Top" conference, scheduled for Jan. 3, 2013, at the Goldman Sachs Conference Center in New York.

Six days later, on Jan. 9, Bisaro will present at the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, at the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco.

NEW YORK — The Supreme Court will review settlements between branded and generic drug companies that critics say delay patients' access to cheaper drug treatments, according to published reports.

Politico reported that the justices had agreed to hear three cases, including Federal Trade Commission v. Watson Pharmaceuticals, involving settlements between branded and generic drug companies that critics deride as "pay-for-delay" deals.

The year 2012 is coming to an end, and it’s been a big year for 
generic drugs.


NORTHVALE, N.J. — Initial shipment of a generic appetite suppressant has started, the drug's manufacturer said Thursday.

Elite Pharmaceuticals announced the initial shipment of phendimetrazine tartrate tablets in the 35-mg strength, a generic version of Valeant's Bontril PDM, under a manufacturing and supply agreement with Mikah Pharma. Actavis, recently acquired by Watson Pharmaceuticals, will distribute the drug as part of a distribution agreement between Mikah and Actavis.

In what its president and CEO called a “significant milestone,” Watson Pharmaceuticals announced last month that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and European Commission had approved its acquisition of Swiss generic drug maker Actavis. Watson announced the $5.6 billion acquisition of Actavis in April, a deal that is expected to make Watson the third-largest generic drug maker in the world, after Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Mylan.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Watson Pharmaceuticals on Wednesday announced the sale of its Rugby over-the-counter business to the Harvard Drug Group — a distributor and provider of private-label OTCs and generic prescription products under the Major Pharmaceuticals brand — for approximately $117 million.  

"I am confident that Major, with its leadership position as a marketer of OTC products, will be more strategically positioned to maximize the value of the long-known and respected Rugby name," stated Paul Bisaro, president and CEO of Watson.

PITTSBURGH — Mylan is challenging a federal court decision ordering the Food and Drug Administration to allow Watson Pharmaceuticals to launch a generic diabetes drug, Mylan said.

The generic drug maker said it filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Tuesday to stay the court's order, which called on the FDA to let Watson launch a generic version of Takeda's Type 2 diabetes drug Actos (pioglitazone).