RSS | Login | Register

Generic

Generics makers approach a cliff of their own

Matthew Arnold January 30, 2012

Generic drug sales will peak this year, says a Goldman Sachs report, as the sector approaches its own cliff.

FDA gives guidance on brand, generic names in ads

Matthew Arnold January 26, 2012

The FDA issued guidance clarifying narrow questions of scientific or generic name placement in ads and labeling in different media, including electronic media.

Pfizer's Lipitor share slips, casting doubt on power of a loyalty program to save the brand

Matthew Arnold January 25, 2012

Seven weeks after Pfizer's main Lipitor patent expired in the US, the drug is down to 32% market share and at least one name-brand analyst is casting doubt on the brand's survival strategy.

Senators slam Pfizer-PBM deal to blunt generic Lipitor

Matthew Arnold December 01, 2011

Pfizer's Lipitor had not yet gone off patent before a trio of Senate healthcare heavyweights was firing off letters to the drugmaker assailing its efforts to conserve Lipitor share through a deal with pharmaceutical benefit managers.

Pfizer's post-expiry plan for Lipitor: maximize brand's sales

Marc Iskowitz November 02, 2011

Pfizer said it plans not only to keep Lipitor consumer promotions running past the brand's expiry later this month. It also aims to put an OTC version of the megablockbuster on the market at some point.

Company news: FDA, Ranbaxy, Daiichi Sankyo and ImpactRx

October 06, 2011

The FDA issued Driving Innovation, a blueprint for fostering American biomedical innovation, reiterating a prior commitment to reform regulation and announcing policies aimed at facilitating personalized medicine.

Teva buys Cephalon, beefs up branded business

Matthew Arnold May 02, 2011

Teva is buying Cephalon for $6.8 billion, thwarting a hostile takeover attempt by Valeant and bolstering the generics giant's footing in the market for branded pharmaceuticals.

As brand revenue shrinks, so does brand promotion

Marc Iskowitz April 22, 2011

Branded drug sales declined 0.7% to $229 billion last year, according to IMS Health, and that's having an impact on promotional spend.

Generic supplier gets in the celebrity marketing game

Matthew Arnold March 30, 2011

Celebrities signing on as spokespeople for branded pharmaceuticals is nothing new, but now a generic drug supplier is getting in the game, with actor Eric Roberts serving as a kind of corporate celebrity ambassador.

Company news: Takeda and Teva

December 28, 2010

Takeda granted generics firm Teva a license to market authorized copies in the US, starting Aug. 17, 2012, for best-selling diabetes pill Actos, and on Dec. 14, 2012, for Actoplus met (Actos plus metformin).

Generic Lovenox drags down Sanofi sales

Marc Iskowitz November 01, 2010

Sanofi-Aventis said US sales of anti-thrombotic Lovenox were cut nearly in half by the launch of generic competition, an indication hospitals are showing little hesitation in using the copycat version.

FTC did not abuse power in Watson brouhaha, judge opines

Marc Iskowitz August 17, 2010

A judge magistrate said that federal antitrust officials did not overstep or share confidential information while probing whether Cephalon illegally settled patent disputes with Watson Pharmaceuticals and others, but he disagreed with the way antitrust officials conducted the investigation.

FTC actions in Watson case come under Senate scrutiny

Marc Iskowitz June 10, 2010

Two senators grilled the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) yesterday over allegations made by Watson Pharmaceuticals that the agency used its subpoena power and access to confidential information to force the company into a business deal with a rival generics firm.

Watson: FTC abused power in trying to 'engineer' entry of generic Provigil

Marc Iskowitz May 27, 2010

The FTC, which opposes reverse-payment patent settlements but has failed to muffle them via the courts or healthcare reform legislation, is now trying some new tactics: harassment, use of privileged information and attempting to force a pharma company to partner with another firm against its will.

No sure fixes for pharma's patent cliff

Marc Iskowitz May 07, 2010

With a spate of high-margin blockbusters going off patent and a lack of replacement products, a Bernstein Research conference explored three potential solutions to the patent cliff.

Global drug sales to grow 5%-8% through 2014 despite patent losses, says IMS

Matthew Arnold April 20, 2010

Global sales of pharmaceuticals will grow at a rate of 5%-8% annually over the next five years, IMS Health forecasts -- even as products with sales of more than $142 billion lose patent protection in top markets, reducing drug spending by $80-$100 billion.

FDA steps up enforcement of generics firm

Marc Iskowitz April 15, 2010

The FDA issued a warning to Canadian generic drug maker Apotex last month, marking the firm's second citation in less than a year.

US Rx drug sales up 5.1% in 2009, says IMS Health

Matthew Arnold March 31, 2010

US prescription drug sales rose 5.1% to $300 billion in 2009, according to IMS Health, buoyed in part by increased use of specialty treatments, a relatively easy year in patent expiries and the absence of major safety problems. But don't break out the party favors just yet, branded drug makers - generics continue to gain share and now account for 75% of dispensed prescriptions.

Biosimilars mean competition, not marketing oblivion, for biologic brands

Marc Iskowitz March 23, 2010

Far from sapping promotional budgets, biosimilars could spur marketing by makers of follow-on and original biologic alike, experts say.

Generic Lovenox takes step closer to reality, analyst says

Marc Iskowitz January 22, 2010

Sandoz, the generics division of Novartis, is soliciting pre-orders for Sanofi-Aventis blood thinner Lovenox—actions that seem to suggest generic approval of the megablockbuster may be coming soon, one analyst says.

E-samples hijack search, study asserts

Marc Iskowitz December 02, 2009

Many big pharma firms are running e-samples, a form of marketing which researchers say capitalizes on patients seeking health information and may affect prescribers' preference for brands over generics.

Non-compliance, requests for generics on the rise, says survey

Matthew Arnold May 28, 2009

Physicians say patient compliance is getting worse, and they're hearing more requests for generic or OTC alternatives to prescribed medications as the economic malaise takes its toll, according to a PriMed survey.

IMS: US Rx drug sales were flat in 2008

Matthew Arnold March 19, 2009

IMS said US prescription drug sales grew 1.3% in 2008 to $291 billion amid increased use of generics, lower sales of new products and slackening consumer demand resulting from the economic downturn.

Generics taking a greater toll on pharma sales forces

Anthony Vecchione January 23, 2009

The number of working sales reps in the US dropped below 93,000 in 2008, from an all-time high of 102,000 in 2005, according to an SDI report. Numbers are expected to decline further in 2009.

Merck makes a play for generic biologics market

Matthew Arnold December 11, 2008

Merck is betting on Democratic plans to speed development of generic biologics, making a play for the market with a new unit tasked with designing the products and promising, in the words of president and CEO Dick Clark, a "new Merck built for the new era that our industry has entered."

Teva in $7.4 billion Barr buy

Matthew Arnold July 18, 2008

Teva is buying Montvale, NJ-based Barr Pharmaceuticals for $7.4 billion and will take on debt of $1.5 billion.

Pfizer reaches settlement to delay generic Lipitor

Stephen McGuire June 18, 2008

Pfizer bought some extra time for its blockbuster cholesterol drug Lipitor (atorvastatin) by reaching a settlement with Ranbaxy Laboratories delaying the US launch of a generic version of the world's top selling pharmaceutical brand.

Prevacid patent upheld

Stephen McGuire April 02, 2008

A federal judge has upheld a Takeda Pharmaceutical and Abbott Laboratories patent for the drugmakers' jointly marketed heartburn drug Prevacid.

Pharma market growth slowest since 1961: IMS Health

Stephen McGuire March 12, 2008

Last year, the US pharmaceuticals market grew at its slowest rate since 1961, research firm IMS Health said today.

Nexium could face early generic challenge, say analysts

Matthew Arnold February 26, 2008

AstraZeneca's Nexium could face generic competition much sooner than expected, and would-be investors should be wary, said brokerage firm Sanford C. Bernstein in an analyst note.