Generic Drug News and Research

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Generic Drugs are official nonbrand names by which medicines are known. Generic names usually refer to the chemical name of the drug.

First Edition: December 10, 2012

Today's headlines include news about yesterday's "fiscal cliff" meeting between President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, as well as other health policy reports.

10 Dec 2012

Conservative lawyers offer new argument against health law's mandate

The lawyers who helped bring the first challenge against the health law's individual mandate think they've figured out another way to kill it using the Supreme Court's own argument that it's a tax. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama's Justice Department files to dismiss an Oklahoma lawsuit challenging the law's implementation.

7 Dec 2012

Negative perceptions about generic drugs are more widespread among ethnic minorities

Negative perceptions about generic drugs are more widespread among ethnic minorities than among whites, finds a new study in Ethnicity & Disease.

1 Dec 2012

Drug shortages a new way of life in providing care; Lawmakers call for investigation

As health care facilities struggle to keep inventories of key medicines, some are resorting to risky practices. Meanwhile, six members of Congress seek GAO probe of pharmaceutical contracting so see if it has hurt generic drugmakers and added to shortages.

20 Nov 2012

IPS examines generic drug scheme in India's Rajasthan state

"As the northern Indian state of Rajasthan rolls out an ambitious universal health care plan, the discontent of the state's doctors stands in stark contrast to the joys of the 68 million people who will benefit from the scheme," Inter Press Service reports.

9 Nov 2012

Teva announces additional data from QNASL Phase III program on seasonal allergic rhinitis

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that additional data from the Phase III clinical program for QNASL- (beclomethasone dipropionate) Nasal Aerosol will be presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) in Anaheim, CA on November 8-13, 2012.

7 Nov 2012

BioXpress, AET BioTech enter agreement to co-develop Adalimumab biosimilar

AET BioTech, the separate biosimilars business within the generic drug developer AET (Alfred E Tiefenbacher) Group and BioXpress Therapeutics SA, a Swiss-based biotechnology company developing monoclonal antibody (MAb) biosimilars have entered into an agreement for the co-development of a biosimilar version of the TNF inhibitor MAb Adalimumab.

30 Oct 2012

Research roundup: Patients' unrealistic expectations for chemo; Neighborhood may affect CPR rates; Rate hike reviews working

"To make informed decisions about whether to receive chemotherapy, patients with advanced lung or colorectal cancer need a realistic understanding of its likely benefits," the authors write. Researchers conducted comprehensive reviews of records.

29 Oct 2012

Mexiletine improves patient-reported stiffness in nondystrophic myotonia

An older medication originally approved to treat heart problems eases the symptoms of a very rare muscle disease that often leaves its sufferers stiff and in a good deal of pain, physicians and researchers report in the Oct. 3 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

4 Oct 2012

Teva concludes Asset Transfer Agreement with NeuroSearch

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd announced today that it has concluded an Asset Transfer Agreement with NeuroSearch A/S of Denmark to purchase all rights, assets and obligations relating to Huntexil (pridopidine / ACR16), a drug candidate being developed for the symptomatic treatment of hand movement, balance and gait disturbances in Huntington disease (HD).

28 Sep 2012

Challenges to India's role as global pharmaceutical supplier

"India has had a positive global impact through its supply of vast quantities of low-cost, good-quality generic medicines, which have saved or prolonged millions of lives ... but there are also many factors that may hinder the continuation of the country's role as chief supplier of medicines to developing countries," Martin Khor, executive director of the South Centre in Geneva, writes in an Inter Press Service opinion piece.

27 Sep 2012

Chronic respiratory disease treatments: an interview with Dr Sven Jan-Anders Karlsson, CEO of Verona Pharma

There are many different chronic respiratory diseases. Verona Pharma is mainly focused on two diseases: asthma and COPD. Asthma is a very common disease and unfortunately it has been increasing in prevalence in developed countries. This is the same with COPD; however, there may be different reasons for this.

25 Sep 2012

CIRT to determine whether methotrexate can reduce heart attacks, strokes and CVD deaths

An international multi-site trial has launched to determine whether a common anti-inflammatory drug can reduce heart attacks, strokes, and deaths due to cardiovascular disease in people at high risk for them. This study is being supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a part of the National Institutes of Health.

22 Aug 2012

Thiabendazole drug slows tumor growth and shows promise as chemotherapy for cancer

An inexpensive antifungal drug, thiabendazole, slows tumor growth and shows promise as a chemotherapy for cancer. Scientists in the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin made this discovery by exploiting the evolutionary relatedness of yeast, frogs, mice and humans.

21 Aug 2012

Teva launches generic ACTOplus met to improve glucose control in adults with type 2 diabetes

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today the launch of an authorized generic of ACTOplus met (pioglitazone/metformin tablets)15 mg/500 mg, 15 mg/850 mg.

18 Aug 2012

FDA accepts Teva's NDA for Quartette oral contraceptive

Teva Women's Health, Inc., a U.S.-based subsidiary of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted for filing its New Drug Application for Quartette (levonorgestrel/ethinyl estradiol tablets and ethinyl estradiol tablets).

13 Aug 2012

Active Biotech, Teva to commence third Phase III study of laquinimod for RRMS

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Active Biotech provided today an update on the clinical development program of once-daily oral laquinimod for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS).

9 Aug 2012

Mylan launches 18 antiretroviral products in India to treat HIV/AIDS

Mylan Inc., one of the world's leading generic and specialty pharmaceutical companies, today announced that its subsidiary, Mylan Pharmaceuticals Private Limited, has commenced commercial operations in India, starting with the launch of a comprehensive portfolio of 18 antiretroviral (ARV) products for the treatment of HIV/AIDS.

6 Aug 2012

Generic drugs saved U.S. $1T over 10 years, industry study finds

Generic drug makers released a study Thursday that found generic pharmaceuticals have saved the U.S. -- through private prescriptions as well as Medicare and Medicaid -- more than $1 trillion over 10 years.

3 Aug 2012

Confrontation looms for big pharmaceutical companies, generic drug makers

It would seem a business executive's dream: legally pay a competitor to keep its product off the market for years. Congress has failed to stop it, and for more than a decade generic drug makers and big-name pharmaceutical companies have been winning court rulings that allowed it.

28 Jul 2012