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December 2, 2008 4:31:09 AM CST

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Stocks Tumble as Bayer Loses Patent for Contraceptive

Generic birth control pill could soon steal market

Financial Times (UK) Financial Times (UK) Mar 5, 08 4:27 AM CST
(Newser) - Bayer shares tumbled to a 12-month low yesterday after a US judge ended the pharmaceutical giant's patent on Yasmin, the company’s top-selling birth control pill. The ruling means rival Barr Pharmaceuticals may introduce a lower-priced generic version of Yasmin in the next few months, Bloomberg reports.  More »

More about:  birth control • patent • birth control pill • generic drugs • Bayer

Risky Errors on Rise With Sound-Alike Drugs

Study finds prescription mix-ups more than doubled since 2004

Reuters Reuters Jan 30, 08 9:24 AM CST
(Newser) - The problem of drug-name mix-ups is growing in the US, with harmful and sometimes even fatal consequences for patients, USA Today reports. A study undertaken by the group that regulates generic drug names found that the rate of mix-ups has more than doubled since 2004. In one case, a 7-year-old boy ended up in the emergency room after being given schizophrenia drug Zyprexa instead of  the allergy drug Zyrtec. More »

More about:  prescription drugs • pharmaceutical • prescription • generic drugs

Battle Brews in Pharma's Market

Pfizer launches attack on generic drug that threatens Lipitor's dominance

New York Times New York Times Nov 3, 07 6:43 PM CDT
(Newser) - Pfizer is trying to stave off its own heart attack now that its flagship cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor faces stiff competition from a cheaper generic. Lipitor is still patent-protected, but a very similar drug called Zocor isn't, and since a generic version called simvastatin hit the market, many doctors and insurers are steering patients away from Lipitor to the cheaper alternative, the New York Times says. More »

FDA Promises More Generics  

Commits to reviewing applications faster

Reuters Reuters Oct 5, 07 9:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - The FDA approved about a third more generic drugs in fiscal 2007 than the year prior, and pledged yesterday to speed its review process to accommodate yet more. Sales of generics, which average about one-third the cost of their brand-name counterparts, are up 22%—and one advocacy group says the FDA isn't doing enough to cut through the 1,300-drug backlog. More »

More about:  FDA • medicine • prescription • generic drugs • Pharmacy

Wal-Mart Expands $4
Drug Program

Retail giant's list of generic meds now includes birth control

St. Petersburg Times St. Petersburg Times Sep 28, 07 2:29 PM CDT
(Newser) - A year after launching its $4 prescription drug program, Wal-Mart yesterday added 24 names to its list of 361 generic medications. The company boasts that it now covers more than 95% of treatable common diseases, the St Petersburg Times reports, but critics call the program a publicity stunt and say Wal-Mart is using it as a loss leader. More »

More about:  Wal-Mart • prescription drugs • generic drugs

Generics Curb Rise in Drug Costs

Cheap alternatives to brand-name meds appear as patents expire

New York Times New York Times Aug 8, 07 6:37 PM CDT
(Newser) - Scores of prescription drugs are getting cheaper, as name-brand patents expire and open the door to generic imitators. That's bad news for pharmaceutical companies, the Times reports, but it means that an aging population ever more reliant on drugs will be paying as much as 80 percent less for them. More »

More about:  health • drugs • medicine • pharmaceutical companies • health care costs • pharma • brands • generic drugs

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