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.

Sweetgum tree may help fight bird flu

The sweetgum tree grows widely throughout the country and is known for its mace-like green fruit, which are sometimes called "gumballs." Now, this spiny fruit may become an important source of a chemical needed to make a lifesaving drug against bird flu - a drug that is currently in short supply worldwide, researchers say.

3 Apr 2006

Nigeria approves misoprostol for use in hospitals and clinics

An old drug will gain a new use in Nigeria when misoprostol will be distributed for prevention and control of post-partum hemorrhage, the life-threatening bleeding after childbirth that commonly occurs in developing countries.

3 Apr 2006

Latest diabetic medications more costly, but users have fewer hospital visits

Diabetics who were prescribed newer medications to control their illness were more likely to take these drugs as instructed than were other patients who were prescribed drugs that have been on the market for several decades.

22 Mar 2006

Sanofi-aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb agree to settle patent dispute with Apotex

Sanofi-aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb have announced that they have reached an agreement subject to certain conditions with Apotex to settle the patent infringement lawsuit pending between the parties in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

21 Mar 2006

New model is able to accurately predict survival for patients with heart failure

A new model developed at the University of Washington provides an accurate estimate of one-, two-, and three-year survival rates and average years of survival for patients with heart failure.

15 Mar 2006

Therapy for slightly raised blood pressure delays hypertension

A new study shows by giving a blood pressure drug to people with measurements above normal but not yet considered too high, the development of hypertension might be delayed.

15 Mar 2006

Researchers find a way to make plants produce more antigens needed for vaccines

Scientists have developed a new kind of molecule which they believe could ultimately lead to the development of a vaccine against HIV using genetically modified tobacco.

13 Mar 2006

AstraZeneca starts patent infringement litigation against IVAX

AstraZeneca announced today that it has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against IVAX Corporation, IVAX Pharmaceuticals and Zenith Laboratories

8 Mar 2006

Next-generation drug development: risky and costly, but worth it

Generic drugs, which drive a $40 billion dollar generics industry expected to hit $60 billion by 2007, account for 53% of all prescriptions filled in the United States today.

6 Mar 2006

Hand-held device for detecting illegal and legal drugs

A real-time sensor for detecting cocaine - made with inexpensive, off-the-shelf electronics - has been developed by a team of researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

1 Mar 2006

Popular painkiller linked to 2000 deaths

Takeda wins patent infringement case

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited and its wholly owned subsidiary, Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc. have announced that Takeda's intellectual property rights have been successfully asserted against generic manufacturers seeking to challenge Takeda's patent rights to ACTOS (pioglitazone HCl).

24 Feb 2006

Acne drug which causes birth defects too hard to monitor

According to the birth watchdog group the March of Dimes, preventing birth defects from a widely used acne drug is too heavy a burden on doctors, patients and pharmacists.

13 Feb 2006

38 million Americans with health conditions that put them at increased risk for cardiovascular disease

An estimated 63 million adults have low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels higher than what would be ideal as recommended by the National Institutes of Health.

7 Feb 2006

Drug used worldwide doubles risk of kidney failure

A drug approved by the FDA, and sold worldwide for the last 13 years, has now been proven to double a patient's risk of kidney failure, and increase the risk of heart attack, heart failure, and stroke.

26 Jan 2006

Patent losses open up $30 billion biologics market to generic competition

With powerhouse biologics, such as human growth hormone and insulin, losing their U.S. patent protection in 2005 and many more set to expire within the next 4 years, generic competition in the lucrative biopharmaceutical market is imminent, according to a new study from Kalorama Information.

25 Jan 2006

Bactrim could help HIV-infected children in poor countries

A new systematic review highlights strong results from a single study at the center of mounting support for worldwide use of the low-cost drug Bactrim to help HIV-infected children in poor countries.

25 Jan 2006

Watchful waiting may be appropriate for some inguinal hernia patients

As long as they remain under the watchful eyes of their primary care physicians, men who have an inguinal hernia (a weakening of the abdominal wall that bulges into the groin area) may postpone surgical repair unless the condition causes symptoms that interfere with their usual activities.

23 Jan 2006

Mylan announces tentative approval for Rabeprazole sodium delayed-release tablets

Mylan Laboratories Inc. has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted tentative approval for Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Abbreviated New Drug Application for Rabeprazole Sodium Delayed-release Tablets, 20 mg.

23 Jan 2006

US warns older flu drugs often don't work

Health authorities in the U.S. are advising doctors to stop using two drugs to treat this winters influenza because it has become evident that the most common strain has become resistant to the drugs and they are unlikely to work.

16 Jan 2006