Archive for the 'Generics' Category
March 4th, 2011 by admin
It looks as if user fees really are in the offing for generic drugs. After generics makers said last week that they’re supporting the idea as a way to speed approvals of their products, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg backed it, too. Revamping the current approvals process is “critical,” she said, because agency funding won’t provide the resources to clear the backlog of apps.
Continue reading ‘Generic Fees Gain Traction with FDA Backing’
March 3rd, 2011 by admin
Medco Health Solutions Inc’s (MHS.N) quarterly profit rose 11 percent on increased mail deliveries of generic drugs, but its shares fell as the report failed to excite investors. The U.S. pharmacy benefit manager reported a fourth-quarter profit, excluding special items, that matched Wall Street’s target and it backed its 2011 forecast. Its shares fell 4.5 percent.
Continue reading ‘Medco in-line Profit Report Fails to Excite Market’
February 9th, 2011 by admin
India’s No.2 drugmaker Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd said a U.S. district court has cleared the sale of its generic version of Sanofi-Aventis’ allergy medicine Allegra D24, sending its shares up nearly 4 percent. The U.S. District Court of New Jersey lifted an injunction passed last June against the Indian drugmaker from selling a copycat version of the drug, Dr Reddy’s said in a statement.
Continue reading ‘U.S. Court Clears Generic Allegra Sale’
February 1st, 2011 by admin
More drugmakers are seeing potential in the business of producing copycat versions of expensive biotechnology drugs as U.S. guidelines take shape. The topic was at the forefront of plans discussed by several executives at this week’s JP Morgan healthcare conference in San Francisco. Kevin Sharer, chief executive officer at Amgen Inc, said the world’s largest maker of branded biotechnology drugs would consider entering the “biosimilars” space, particularly in emerging markets like Asia and South America.
Continue reading ‘Copying Biotech Medicine Attracts More Drugmakers’
October 22nd, 2010 by admin
The Big 3 drug wholesalers in the U.S.–AmerisourceBergen, McKesson and Cardinal Health–are enjoying a financial boost this year thanks to the growing use of generic drugs. That’s a bus they hope to ride into 2011 and beyond, when they can expect drug distribution’s next big business-shaker: healthcare reform.
Continue reading ‘Drug Wholesalers Enjoy a Financial Boost This Year’
October 6th, 2010 by admin
A group of European experts are pondering a new set of rules to govern the development of biosimilar monoclonal antibodies, paving the way for a lower-cost version of some of the world’s priciest therapeutics. But despite the big market that waits for these biosimilars, regulators say this field will be so tough to crack that they expect to see only a handful of applications each year.
Continue reading ‘Few Pharmas Expected to Tackle Biosimilar Antibodies’
August 27th, 2010 by admin
Drug counterfeiting has become a $200-billion business annually, according to the World Customs Organization. By some calculations, the counterfeiting trade has become more lucrative than the narcotics business. It’s a global problem. The World Health Organization estimates that counterfeit drugs make up ten percent of the drug market worldwide. And experts say that solving it–or at least stemming the tide–requires the participation of both government and industry.
Continue reading ‘Drug Counterfeiting – a $200 Billion Business’
August 25th, 2010 by admin
More drugs are hitting the recall list these days. As CNN Money reports, the number of recalls hit 1,742 last year–that’s an increase of 309 percent over 2008. “We’ve seen a trend where the last four years are among the top five for the most number of drug recalls since we began tallying recalls in 1988,” says Bowman Cox, managing editor of the Gold Sheet, a trade pub that analyzes FDA data. “That’s a meaningful development.”
Continue reading ‘Drug Recalls Hit All-Time High’
August 20th, 2010 by admin
In a bid to break out of its dependence on manufacturing and cheap labor, the Chinese government is planning to invest $1.5 billion into new drug development between 2011 and 2016. And biotechnology is one of seven emerging industries that the Asian powerhouse will use to spearhead the next big step in its economic development, according to a report in China’s 21st Century Business Herald.
Continue reading ‘China Plans to Bolster Biotech’
August 19th, 2010 by admin
The following listing is of the top U.S. generic companies based on sales from Jan-Dec 2009. In recent years, Big Pharma has begun to look beyond brand-name drugs to the generics market. With the rising costs of healthcare, governments and payers alike are pushing for increased generics usage. And Big Pharma companies like Novartis and Pfizer are paying attention, striking deals with generics companies and even building units of their own.
Continue reading ‘Top 10 Generic Drug Companies 2010′
