Content about pharmaceuticals

PITTSBURGH — Mylan's Canadian subsidiary has launched a new website that is designed to help Canadians learn more about the value, reliability and quality of generic pharmaceuticals.

TORONTO — That trip to the local restaurant is off the menu for consumers today, as are furnishings and electronics, Empathica reported on Thursday, citing its latest Consumer Insights Panel survey of more than 6,500 U.S. consumers. One-out-of-3 shoppers surveyed reported that the economy is still very much top of mind for them. But "need" items — gas, pharmacy and grocery — are not seeing declines in purchase intent compared to findings from this time the previous year, the report noted.

It’s common knowledge that pharmaceuticals have provided humankind with almost miraculous benefits over the past century in their ability to prevent, cure or reduce the impact of disease and to prolong life. But serious errors in the way medicines are dispensed by pharmacies and self-administered by patients are taking a big and growing toll on patients’ well-being.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Generic drug maker Hospira has joined the country's largest lobby for the generic drug industry, the company said.

Hospira, which specializes in generic injectables and infusion technology, announced that it had joined the Generic Pharmaceutical Association. In addition to generic pharmaceuticals, the company also makes biosimilars for the European market.

WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration's action to address the ongoing shortage of certain cancer drugs has garnered praise from a group representing the manufacturers and distributors of generic pharmaceuticals.

The Generic Pharmaceutical Association said it applauded the FDA's action to address the shortage of cancer drugs Doxil (doxorubicin hydrochloride liposome injection) and preservative-free methotrexate. GPhA also added that generic drug manufacturers are tirelessly working with regulators to provide needed supplies of the critical medicines.

VALLEY FORGE, Pa. — AmerisourceBergen on Tuesday recorded revenues of $20.4 billion for fourth quarter 2011 ended Sept. 30, up 3.5%. Diluted earnings per share increased 8% to 54 cents. For the year, AmerisourceBergen posted $80.2 billion in revenue, up 2.9%.

BOISE, Idaho — PakSense has launched a new label that monitors time and temperature of such perishable items as food, vaccines, pharmaceuticals and biologics during distribution and storage.

It’s hard to disagree that generic drug companies have had a good run for the last several years. Branded drug companies developed a large number of drugs that proved highly effective at treating widespread medical conditions and became blockbusters, garnering billions of dollars in sales in the United States alone. As patents on these blockbuster drugs have expired, they’ve provided generic manufacturers with enormous revenues, helping some to join the ranks of the world’s biggest drug companies.



A worldwide flood of counterfeit and unsafe medications is seeping into the United States and other developed countries via the Internet and porous borders, threatening public health and the security of the pharmaceutical supply chain. In response, federal drug safety overseers and such drug manufacturers as Pfizer are working to shore up the integrity of drug supplies and stop production of fake and adulterated pharmaceuticals at their source.


PRINCETON, N.J. — Sandoz has launched generic versions of treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, the generic pharmaceuticals division of Swiss drug maker Novartis said Wednesday.

Sandoz announced the launch of donepezil hydrochloride film-coated tablets and donepezil hydrochloride orally disintegrating tablets, which are generic versions of Eisai and Pfizer’s Aricept and Aricept ODT, respectively.

Donepezil hydrochloride film-coated and orally disintegrating tablets had sales of $2.3 billion in the 12-month period ended in March, according to IMS Health.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Hospira had net sales of $1 billion during first quarter 2011, the generic drug maker said Tuesday.

Sales for the quarter, which ended March 31, declined by 0.5%, compared with first quarter 2010, while profits were $149.9 million, a 5.8% increase over last year.

NEW YORK — A U.S. drug maker and its Japanese partner have started a late-stage clinical trial of a drug for treating elevated phosphate levels in the body, the two announced Monday.

Keryx Biopharmaceuticals and Torii Pharmaceutical, the pharmaceuticals subsidiary of Japan Tobacco, started a phase-3 trial of Zerenex (ferric citrate) in Japan for patients with hyperphosphatemia. The drug also is in phase-3 trials in the United States as a treatment for hyperphosphatemia in patients with end-stage kidney disease on dialysis.