Betamethasone Dipropionate Cream and Ointment
Betamethasone Valerate Cream and Ointment
Bisoprolol Fum W/HCTZ
Hydrochlorothiazide 12.5mg
Metaxalone
Nifedipine 10mg and 20mg
Propylthiouracil
Now Available and Coming Soon in Generic
Now Available:
*Caduet
*Combivir
*Entocort
*Keppra XR
LoSeasonique
*Lipitor
*Solodyn
*Uroxatral
*Zyprexa
*Zyprexa Zydis
Coming Soon:
Lexapro
Plavix
Seroquel
WellPoint Planning to Stop Covering Lipitor
Health-insurer WellPoint Inc. is planning to stop covering Pfizer Inc.’s Lipitor cholesterol-lowering pills for millions of members in favor of generic versions, marking a new challenge to Pfizer’s efforts to fend off generic competition to its best-selling drug. WellPoint, one of the nation’s largest managed-care firms, will make the change on April 1 for many commercial pharmacy-benefit members in 12 of the 14 states it serves.
Employees Concerned over Express Scripts / Medco Merger
More than 50 employers from across the country today sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) expressing concern about the proposed merger between pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) Express Scripts, Inc. (ESI) and Medco Health Solutions. The group said that approving the $29 billion deal could make pharmacy plans more expensive for employers and hurt businesses and employers throughout their communities.
In the letter, the group urged the FTC to consider the downstream ramifications that this merger will have on health care consumers, employers seeking health care plans and the business environment in general.
Avastin Warning Doctors and Patients
The maker of the widely prescribed cancer drug Avastin is warning doctors and patients about counterfeit vials of the 
product that have been distributed in the U.S. Roche’s Genentech unit said Tuesday that the fake products do not contain the key ingredient in Avastin, which is used to treat cancers of the colon, lung, kidney and brain. The drug is a huge money-maker for Roche, generating about $6 billion a year.
Possible 2012 Product Launches
| Actos | 17-Aug | $3.5 billion | Mylan – :first to file” Teva – authorized generic |
| Actosplus Met | 14-Dec | $459 million | Mylan – :first to file” Teva – authorized generic |
| Atacand | 4-Dec | $122 million | Tentative approval: Lek, Matrix |
| Atacand HCT | 4-Dec | $59 million | Mylan – “first to file” |
| Avalide | 30-Mar | $330 million | Tentative approval: Mylan, Teva, Sandoz, Roxane, Zydus |
| Avandamet | 17-Mar | $161 million | |
| Avandaryl | 17-Mar | $35 million | |
| Avandia | 17-Mar | $286 million | Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. announced today that the District Court case has been settled on terms that are confidential allowing Teva by license to enter the U.S. market with its generic versions of Avandia® |
| Avapro | 30-Mar | $398 million | Tentative approval: Teva, Cipla, Sandoz, Zydus, Mylan, Lupin |
| Boniva | 17-Mar | $692 million | Apotex Inc. agreed to delay selling a generic version of the osteoporosis drug Boniva until a judge rules on the validity of a Roche Holding AG (ROG) patent on the medicine that expires in March 2012. Apotex, based in Toronto, is seeking U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to sell a copy of Boniva. In 2007, Roche sued in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, claiming its patent is valid and enforceable, and that Apotex infringed it. Under an accord filed in court Oct. 11, Apotex agreed it wouldn’t sell its copy until U.S. District Judge Stanley Chesler rules on the validity and enforcement questions or the patent expires, whichever comes first. |
| Clarinex 5mg | 1-Jul | $300 million | Mylan and Orchid |
| Diovan | 21-Sep | $1.5 billion | Ranbaxy believe they are “first to file”; however they have relinquished several exclusivities as part of a settlement with the FDA, this may or may not be one of them. Tentative approval: Teva |
| Diovan HCT | 21-Sep | $1.4 billion | Mylan – “first to file” |
| Gabitril | 24-Mar | $51 million | Tentative approval: Sun Pharma |
| Geodon | 2-Mar | $1 billion | Tentative approval: Lupin, Sandoz, Dr. Reddy |
| Lescol | 11-Apr | $26 million | Mylan believes they are “first to file” |
| Lescol XL | 11-Apr | $67 million | Tentative approval: Par |
| Lexapro | 14-Mar | $2.5 billion | Mylan launching 2 weeks early – 2/29. Teva will launch 3/14 180-day exclusive |
| Maxalt | 29-Dec | $278 million | Tentative approval: Cipla, Mylan, Sandoz, Teva |
| Maxalt MLT | 29-Dec | $232 million | Final approval: Dr. Reddy, Sandoz, Watson.Tentative: Orchid |
| Plavix | 17-May | $5 billion | |
| Provigil | 6-Apr | $1 billion | Mylan and Ranbaxy granted a non- exclusive royalty-bearing right to market and sell a generic version of PROVIGIL in the United States. Mylan believes they are “first to file” |
| Seroquel | 26-Mar | $3.5 billion | Teva lost patent infringement suit, multiple mfg’s expected |
| Singulair | 3-Aug | $3.8 billion | Tentative approval: Endo, Glenmark, Mylan, Roxane, Sandoz, Teva, Torrent |
| Viramune | 22-May | $108 million |
Now Available in Generic from Capital Drug
Caduet
Combivir
Entocort
Keppra XR
LoSeasonique
Lipitor
Solodyn
Uroxatral
Zyprexa
Zyprexa Zydis
Product Issues and Anticipated Ship Dates
Benztropine – April 2
Desonide Oint. – March 1
Diazepam 5mg/ml – March
Fluocinonide E Cream – March 15
Galantamine – Feb. 15
Hydroxyzine Pamoate 100mg – Jan 31
Kariva – Feb 24
Lansoprazole ODT – Temporarily Unavailable
Leflunomide – March 9
Lorazepam 2mg/ml – March
Naltrexone 50mg – March 5
Sprintec – Jan 26
Tetracycline – Temporarily discontinued
Thiothixene 2mg - Temporarily discontinued
January Price Increases and Hard to Find In Stock
January Price Increases on the following items:
Cefpodoxime Susp, Cetirizine Chew, Clarithromycin Susp, Cyclosporine 100mg and 25mg, Oxycodone, Perphenazine, Ranitidine CAPSULES, and Triamterene/HCTZ 37.5/25mg and 75/50mg.
Hard to Find Items In Stock at Capital Drug
Acyclovir, Baclofen, Bisoprolol Fum/HCTZ, Buspirone 15mg, Calcium Acetate, CDP w/Clindinium, Cilostazol, Ciprofloxacin, Cryselle, Doxycycline, Fludrocortisone Acetate, Glimepiride, Glycopyrrolate, Haloperidol Deconate Inj, Hydrocodone w/Ibuprofen, Labetalol, Leflunomide, Levetiracetam, Lithium Carb ER 450mg, Lorazepam Inj., Mebendazole, Medroxyprogesterone, Metaxalone, Methazolamide, Oxaprozin, Oxybutynin, Pramipexole, Ticlopidine
Ranbaxy’s Generic Business Suspended
Ranbaxy’s generic pharmaceuticals business in the U.S. has been suspended until it can correct violations at its factories in India and the United States that triggered a federal injunction.
Under the terms of a settlement reached with the U.S. Department of Justice, which described its investigation of the company as “groundbreaking,” the company is to bring its facilities in India and the United States in line with good industry practices. The federal injunction was filed against one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in India and its U.S. operations, headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey. The action does not appear to affect the company’s generic version of Lipitor. It has an agreement with Teva Pharmaceuticals’ U.S. arm for a portion of the profits from sales during Ranbaxy’s 180-day, first-to-file exclusivity period.