Ranbaxy's generic tamsulosin is delayed

Ranbaxy Laboratories’ stab at potential sales of millions of dollars has come to naught after it failed to secure the FDA’s permission to market the generic version of tamsulosin (Flomax) in the US. Ranbaxy, the Indian unit of Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo, was to launch the generic version of the Japan-based Astellas’ Flomax on March 2, 2010 in the US, eight weeks before the drug’s patent expires in the US following an out-of-court settlement in 2007. Flomax, used to treat prostrate enlargement and marketed by German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim, recorded sales of around $2 billion in the US last year. 

The USFDA refusal to give permission is another blow for the Gurgaon-based drugmaker, whose 30 drugs were banned by the FDA in September 2008. The FDA also halted fresh approval for two of its Indian plants for violating US manufacturing rules. Early last year, the FDA also delayed the launch of its generic version of GlaxoSmithKline’s Imitrex. The spokesman did not set a new launch date. Even if Ranbaxy is able to launch the product, its upside will be severely limited as it enjoyed only an eight-week marketing exclusivity window. 

Moreover, US-based Impax Laboratories, another generic drug maker, was able to launch its product on Tuesday.  Impax had also arrived at an out-of-court settlement with Astellas over the drug. An Impax release quoting a Wolters Kluwer Health figure said Flomax saw sales of around $1.9 billion for the 12 months ended August 31, 2009, in the US. A back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that Ranbaxy could have earned up to $100 million during the eight-week exclusivity period. Ranbaxy would have been one of only three companies selling the drug besides Impax and Boehringer Ingelheim during that period. Once the patent of an original drug expires, several drugmakers launch their low-cost versions and there is significant price erosion, sometimes up to 95%. But during the period of marketing exclusivity, there are few players and price erosion is considerably less. 

Impax confirms Patent Challenge against Colesevelam HCl tablets, 625 mg

Impax has initiated a challenge against patents listed by Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. in connection with its WELCHOL® (Colesevelam HCl) tablets, 625 mg by filing an ANDA containing a para IV certification for a generic version of WELCHOL® with the USFDA. Following receipt of the notice from the FDA that Impax's ANDA had been accepted for filing, Impax notified the NDA holder and patent owners of its paragraph IV certification. On January 14, 2010, Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. and Genzyme Corporation filed suit for patent infringement against Impax in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. This action formally initiates the patent challenge process under the Hatch-Waxman Act. Based on the filing date of the ANDA, the Company believes that it is the first to file an ANDA with a paragraph IV certification and expects to be entitled to 180 days of market exclusivity. Once the ANDA is approved by FDA, Global Pharmaceuticals, Impax's generic division, will commercialize the products.

WELCHOL® is indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise to reduce elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in adults with primary hyperlipidemia (Fredrickson Type IIa) as monotherapy or in combination with an hydroxymethyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG CoA) reductase inhibitor (statin), reduce LDL-C levels in boys and postmenarchal girls, 10 to 17 years of age, with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia as monotherapy or in combination with a statin after failing an adequate trial of diet therapy, and improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. According to Wolters Kluwer Health, U.S. sales of WELCHOL® were approximately $308 million for the twelve-month period ending November 2009.