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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: generic drugs

generic drugs stories: 9 news summaries

(Newser) - The Obama administration is thwarting poor countries' access to affordable drugs in order to win Big Pharma's support for health care reform, according to Doctors Without Borders and other NGOs. As the Los Angeles Times reports, governments from Asia to Latin America are feeling pressure from Washington on their use... More »

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drug companies • generic drugs • health care reform • Doctors Without Borders • HIV/AIDS • pharmaceutical industry • Obama administration • NGOs

 FTC Challenges 
 Payments to 
 Delay Generics 

Deal to keep generic drug off the market is anti-competitive, regulators say

Feb 3, 09 9:25 AM CST
(Newser) - The Federal Trade Commission, pledging to oppose “pay-for-delay” agreements, filed suit against a brand-name testosterone-replacement drug manufacturer for paying three competitors to delay introductions of generic versions, the Washington Post reports. Nearly half of settlements between brand-name drug-makers and their generic counterparts in 2006 and 2007 resulted in such... More »

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pharmaceutical companies • FTC • generic drugs • monopoly • antitrust suit • pharmaceutical industry • Solvay Pharmaceuticals

 Pfizer to Can 800 Researchers 

Company must cut R&D spending ahead of Lipitor patent expiration

Jan 13, 09 12:19 PM CST
(Newser) - Pfizer will eliminate the jobs of up to 800 researchers in 2009, starting today, the Wall Street Journal reports. The pharmaceutical giant is attempting to cut costs ahead of a $30 billion reduction in revenue expected in 2011 when its patent on the popular cholesterol drug Lipitor expires. But the... More »

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layoffs • pharmaceutical companies • drug companies • Pfizer • research • generic drugs • Lipitor • pharmaceutical industry

Stocks Tumble as Bayer Loses Patent for Contraceptive

Generic birth control pill could soon steal market

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 »

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birth control • generic drugs • birth control pill • patent • Bayer • Barr Pharmaceuticals • Yasmin

Risky Errors on Rise With Sound-Alike Drugs

Study finds prescription mix-ups more than doubled since 2004

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... More »

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prescription drugs • generic drugs • pharmaceutical • prescription

Battle Brews in Pharma's Market

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

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... More »

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insurance companies • pharmaceutical companies • Pfizer • cholesterol • health care industry • heart attack • medical treatment • statins • LDL • generic drugs • Zocor • Lipitor • simvastatin

FDA Promises More Generics  

Commits to reviewing applications faster

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... More »

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medicine • FDA • generic drugs • prescription • Pharmacy

Wal-Mart Expands $4
Drug Program

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

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... More »

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prescription drugs • generic drugs • Warfarin • Carvedilol • Lamisol • Wal-Mart

Generics Curb Rise in Drug Costs

Cheap alternatives to brand-name meds appear as patents expire

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 »

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medicine • health care costs • health • drugs • brands • pharmaceutical companies • pharma • generic drugs

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