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.

Africa should manufacture its own antiretrovirals, A.U. official says

African countries should produce their own generic antiretroviral drugs in order to continue the fight against HIV/AIDS during the global economic crisis, African Union Commissioner for Social Affairs Bience Gawanas said recently during a conference for health ministers in Ethiopia, Reuters UK reports.

12 May 2009

Money from Bill and Melinda Gates will help beat Dengue fever in Australia

The University of Queensland (UQ) has won a grant of $100,000 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to fight dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases.

11 May 2009

2010 budget for FDA invests substantially in food and medical product safety

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is requesting a budget of $3.2 billion to protect and promote the public health as part of the President's fiscal year (FY) 2010 budget - a 19 percent increase over the current FDA fiscal year budget.

7 May 2009

GSK to divest U.S. rights for Wellbutrin XL to Biovail

GlaxoSmithKline has announced that it has entered into an agreement to divest full commercial rights to Wellbutrin XL in the United States to Biovail International Laboratories SRL, a subsidiary of Biovail Corporation, for $510 million (euro 340 million). The agreement is subject to Hart-Scott-Rodino regulatory clearance in the United States.

6 May 2009

New antidepressants might be no more effective than the best existing drugs

The reviews suggest that sertraline - sold under the brand name Zoloft since 1991- could be the best initial choice of antidepressant in people with acute major depression. The generic formulation produced the best balance of effectiveness, tolerability and purchase price, the authors say.

5 May 2009

Competition among pharmacies could spur change in industry

The competition among pharmacy retailers such as Walgreen and Wal-Mart "to create more efficient business plans for pricing and selling prescription drugs has the potential to spur change across the pharmacy industry," the Wall Street Journal reports.

5 May 2009

A negative mGluR5 allosteric modulator shows efficacy in treating acute migraine attacks

When migraine strikes, because of severe pain, often accompanied by nausea and sensitivity to light and sound, sufferers are effectively disabled for up to 72 hours.

30 Apr 2009

Generics less effective than branded counterparts in treating lower urinary tract symptoms

Men taking generic drugs may be more likely to have less effective results and more adverse events than if they were using branded medications, according to new data from researchers in New York.

26 Apr 2009

Breakthrough method for sequencing-based methylation profiling

Bioengineers at UC San Diego have developed a breakthrough method for sequencing-based methylation profiling, which could help fuel personalized regenerative medicine and even lead to more efficient and cost-effective methods for studying certain diseases.

23 Apr 2009

Watson Pharmaceuticals files ANDAs for generic Mucinex

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has confirmed that it has filed two Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seeking approval to market its guaifenesin extended-release 600mg and 1200mg tablets and its dextromethorphan HBr/guaifenesin extended-release 30mg/600mg and 60mg/1200mg tablets prior to the expiration of patents owned by Reckitt Benckiser Inc.

22 Apr 2009

Lilly granted preliminary injunction to prevent launch of generic Raloxifene

Eli Lilly and Company has announced that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana today issued a preliminary injunction to prevent the launch of a generic version of Lilly's medicine Evista (raloxifene HCl tablets) by Teva Pharmaceuticals until the Court renders its final ruling.

22 Apr 2009

Star Scientific reports on patent application for Zero-Nitrosamine tobacco curing process

Star Scientific and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals ("Rock Creek"), have reported on their continuing efforts to lessen the harm linked with tobacco use.

16 Apr 2009

Court grants AstraZeneca temporary restraining order against Apotex in PULMICORT RESPULES patent litigation

On 16 April 2009, the US District Court for the District of New Jersey granted AstraZeneca's request for a temporary restraining order, barring Apotex (Apotex, Inc. and Apotex Corp.) from launching a generic version of AstraZeneca's PULMICORT RESPULES until further order of the court.

16 Apr 2009

Valproate exposure during pregnancy can impair a child's cognitive development

Three-year-olds whose mothers took the antiepileptic drug valproate during pregnancy had average IQs six to nine points lower than children exposed to three other antiepileptic drugs, a landmark multi-center study has found.

15 Apr 2009

FDA grants Oasmia's Paclical orphan drug designation for ovarian cancer in U.S.

Oasmia Pharmaceutical, Uppsala, Sweden, has been granted Orphan Drug designation by the USA FDA of Paclical for the treatment of ovarian cancer.

14 Apr 2009

Mylan confirms first-to-file patent challenge relating to Xeloda

Mylan Inc. has confirmed that the company and its subsidiary Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. have been sued by Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. in connection with the filing of an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Capecitabine Tablets, 150 mg and 500 mg, the generic version of Xeloda Tablets, a chemotherapy treatment for breast and colorectal cancer.

14 Apr 2009

Mylan settles Clarinex patent case

Mylan Inc. has announced the settlement of all patent litigation relating to Desloratadine Tablets, 5 mg, the generic version of Schering- Plough's Clarinex allergy medication.

9 Apr 2009

Cost-cutting measures are creeping into the medicine cabinet

Cost-cutting measures are creeping into the medicine cabinet. We split pills in half or take the drugs every other day to stretch our doses. We stop filling the prescriptions for our most expensive drugs. We buy prescriptions from online pharmacies with questionable credentials.

6 Apr 2009

Gilead Sciences announces notification of ANDA filing for Atripla

Gilead Sciences, Inc. has announced receipt of a Paragraph IV Certification Notice Letter advising that Teva Pharmaceuticals submitted an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting permission to manufacture and market a generic version of Atripla (efavirenz 600 mg/emtricitabine 200 mg/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate 300 mg). Atripla is currently sold in the United States through a joint venture between Bristol-Myers Squibb and Gilead.

6 Apr 2009

Taro receives final FDA approval for Carbamazepine extended-release tablets

Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has reported that it received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its Abbreviated New Drug Application ("ANDA") for Carbamazepine Extended-Release Tablets USP, 100 mg, 200 mg and 400 mg ("carbamazepine extended-release tablets").

6 Apr 2009