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.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries to buy Barr Pharmaceuticals

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that they have signed a definitive agreement under which Teva will acquire Barr, the fourth largest generic drug company worldwide.

18 Jul 2008

Wyeth and Impax settle Effexor XR patent case

Wyeth and Impax Laboratories Inc. today announced that all conditions of a settlement of the U.S. patent infringement litigation pertaining to Impax's proposed generic capsule formulation of Wyeth's Effexor XR antidepressant have been approved by the United States District Court for the District of Delaware.

17 Jul 2008

FDA makes changes to drug approval process

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced that it is revising the way it communicates to drug companies when a marketing application cannot be approved as submitted.

9 Jul 2008

Nanomaterials key to new strategies for blocking metastasis

A new treatment strategy using targeted nanoparticles to block metastasis with anti-cancer drugs leads to good results using significantly lower doses of toxic chemotherapy, with less collateral damage to surrounding tissue, according to a collaborative team of researchers at the Center of Nanotechnology for Treatment, Understanding, and Monitoring of Cancer at the University of California, San Diego. In designing this system, the investigators, led by David Cheresh, Ph.D., have identified what may become a generic method for using nanotechnology to target metastasis.

9 Jul 2008

Black box warning for epilepsy drugs

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is calling for the strongest type of warning to be placed on drugs which are used to treat epilepsy.

8 Jul 2008

Brazilian organization files opposition to Gilead's antiretroviral patent application in India

The Brazilian group Interdisciplinary AIDS Association, or ABIA, has joined Indian patient advocacy groups to oppose a patent application for Gilead Science's antiretroviral drug Tenofovir, saying that the patent would have a direct impact on Brazil's ability to produce and access affordable generic versions of the drug, India's Business Standard reports. Opponents of the patent say that the drug consists of a previously known compound and, therefore, cannot be patented under India's Patents Act.

2 Jul 2008

FDA approves generic Risperidone for the treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first generic versions of Risperdal (risperidone) tablets. Risperdal is an antipsychotic drug used for the treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other psychiatric conditions.

1 Jul 2008

Scientists challenge the public to predict the best way to control disease epidemics

Scientists will be challenging the public this week to pit their powers of prediction against the latest computer simulations. A brand new interactive exhibit will be displayed at the Royal Society's summer science exhibition that showcases the value of mathematical models in the fight to prevent and control diseases such as bluetongue.

30 Jun 2008

Watson Pharmaceuticals launches generic version of dronabinol

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that, under a supply agreement with Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Watson has launched the authorized generic version of dronabinol in the 2.5, 5 and 10 mg once daily dosage strengths.

30 Jun 2008

Barr announces favorable ruling in Mirapex patent challenge

Barr Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced that U.S. District Court for Delaware has ruled in favor of its subsidiary, Barr Laboratories, Inc., in the challenge of the patent listed by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in connection with Boehringer Ingelheim's Mirapex(R) Tablets (pramipexole dihydrochloride) 0.125mg, 0.25mg, 0.5mg, 1mg & 1.5mg.

26 Jun 2008

Report finds 32% increase in drug industry lobbying spending in 2007

The pharmaceutical industry spent $168 million on lobbying in 2007, a 32% increase over the previous year, according to a report released Tuesday by the Center for Public Integrity, the Wall Street Journal reports.

26 Jun 2008

Ranbaxy receives tentative approval to manufacture Valganciclovir hydrochloride tablets

Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited (RLL), announced today that the company has received tentative approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to manufacture and market Valganciclovir Hydrochloride Tablets, 450 mg. Total annual market sales for Valganciclovir HCl Tablets were $239 million (IMS - MAT: March 2008).

25 Jun 2008

India's patent office rejects Boehringer's application for pediatric antiretroviral

India's Patent Office in New Delhi earlier this month rejected German drug maker Boehringer Ingelheim's application for a pediatric version of the antiretroviral drug nevirapine, consequently allowing local generic pharmaceutical companies such as Aurobindo and Cipla to continue marketing low-cost versions of the medicine in the domestic market, the Business Standard reports.

24 Jun 2008

Barr and Bayer sign agreements for launch of generic Yasmin and Yaz oral contraceptives

Barr Laboratories, Inc. has entered into supply and licensing agreements with Bayer for generic versions of Bayer's Yasmin (drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol) and Yaz (drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol) oral contraceptive products.

24 Jun 2008

Study shows generics now own 63% of Medicare Part D market

Wolters Kluwer Health, a division of Wolters Kluwer, has released the results of a study that looks at key statistical outcomes of the Medicare Part D (MPD) prescription drug program.

23 Jun 2008

Ranbaxy and Pfizer settle on Lipitor patent litigation

Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited (Ranbaxy), announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Pfizer Inc. to settle most of the patent litigation worldwide involving Atorvastatin (Lipitor), the world's most-prescribed cholesterol-lowering medicine.

19 Jun 2008

Wall Street Journal examines efforts to encourage adoption of electronic prescribing technology

The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday examined several factors that are pushing physicians to adopt electronic prescribing technology, reporting that while the "possible benefits to doctors and patients are clear," there are obstacles that "hinder widespread adoption." Fewer than 10%, or about 35,000, of U.S. physicians currently use e-prescribing technology.

17 Jun 2008

Pharmaceutical companies lobbying States to restrict use of lower-cost generic alternatives

Pharmaceutical companies, which "have been waging war against inexpensive generic drugs for years at the national level," are now "taking their fights to the states, promoting proposals that would" bar pharmacists from automatically replacing prescriptions for brand-name drugs with generics, the Baltimore Sun reports.

17 Jun 2008

Mylan announces FDA approval for generic Effexor and tentative approval for generic antihypertensive Avalide

Mylan Inc. today announced that its subsidiary, Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc., has received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Venlafaxine Hydrochloride (HCl) Tablets 25 mg (base), 37.5 mg (base), 50 mg (base), 75 mg (base) and 100 mg (base).

16 Jun 2008

Mylan wins generic Prilosec patent litigation

Mylan Inc. has announced today that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed a May 2007 District Court ruling stating that Mylan's 10 mg and 20 mg Omeprazole delayed-release capsules do not infringe patents asserted against Mylan by AstraZeneca.

11 Jun 2008