Generics

NEW YORK — A coalition of organizations that includes major retail pharmacy and drug manufacturing groups is warning consumers against purchasing drugs from foreign, online outlets.

LONDON — The drug market in Brazil is expected to grow to nearly $60 billion by the next decade, but problems remain with coverage of the population, according to a new report.

The report, by research and consulting firm GlobalData, found that the Brazilian market would experience compounded annual growth of 12.7%, expanding from $12.4 billion in 2007 to $58.8 billion in 2020.

When it comes to laws and regulations, what happens in Europe stays in Europe generally, and doesn’t have much bearing on the United States. But a recent win in Europe for U.S. drug maker Hospira could have some implications for the United States as well.

Last month, the company — which specializes in making generic injectable drugs — announced that European Union regulators had approved the continent’s first biosimilar monoclonal antibody.

SILVER SPRING, Md. – One of the Food and Drug Administration's top regulators is not retiring, contrary to rumors reported in news media Thursday.

In a memo sent out to staff, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research director Janet Woodcock wrote that she would not retire, but was becoming "more deeply involved" in such activities as proposed reorganizations of the Office of Pharmaceutical Quality and the Office of Generic Drugs.

NEW YORK — A new law in Maine will allow consumers to purchase drugs by mail order from some pharmacies overseas, according to published reports.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that the law, a first, had sparked lawsuits from drug companies, who say the law will threaten patient safety by opening the U.S. supply chain to counterfeit and adulterated medications. Supporters of the law, including Republican Gov. Paul LePage, say drug makers are more concerned about losing money from the law.

BALTIMORE — Lupin Pharmaceuticals announced today that it has launched its generic gatifloxacin ophthalmic solution 0.5%. Lupin had earlier received final approval from the Food and Drug Administration to market a generic version of Allergan's Zymaxid ophthalmic solution, 0.5%, which is indicated for the treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis.

RHINEBECK, N.Y. — Consumers in the United States are more likely than those in three other countries to say they prefer to receive generic drugs over branded drugs, according to a new study.

The study, by Phoenix Marketing International, included 810 consumers from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and France. Among respondents, 37% of American consumers expressed a preference for generics when they were available, compared with 22% of those in France, 12% in the United Kingdom and 21% in Canada.

NEW YORK — A Republican congressman from Alabama has proposed a stopgap bill that would fund the Food and Drug Administration through the middle of December or until the government shutdown ends, though it is unlikely to pass in the Senate.