Generics

PITTSBURGH — Generic drug maker Mylan is challenging the patent on a drug used to treat diabetes, the company said Monday.

Mylan said that it was sued by Takeda Pharmaceutical, Watson Pharmaceuticals and Andrx Labs in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in response to Mylan's filing a regulatory approval application with the Food and Drug Administration for a generic version of Actoplus Met XR (pioglitazone hydrochloride and metformin hydrochloride) extended-release tablets in the 15-mg/1,000-mg and 30-mg/1,000-mg strengths.

ALLEGAN, Mich. — Drug maker Perrigo is buying a privately owned distributor of diabetes products, the company said Monday.

Perrigo announced the $36 million acquisition of Alpharetta, Ga.-based CanAm Care, whose assets include Dex4 hypoglycemia products, insulin delivery syringes and pen needles, lancing, wound care and compression stockings.

PRINCETON, N.J. — Sandoz has launched a shampoo used to treat severe scalp psoriasis, the generic drug maker said.

Sandoz announced the introduction of clobetasol propionate shampoo in the 0.05% strength, an authorized generic version of Galderma Labs' Clobex. An authorized generic drug is a branded drug sold under its generic name, usually by a third-party company at a reduced price.

Various versions of the shampoo had sales of about $54.9 million during the 12-month period ended in October 2011, according to IMS Health.

MORRISTOWN, N.J. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a generic version of a drug for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder made by Actavis, the drug maker said Wednesday.

ALLEGAN, Mich. — Perrigo last week announced that it has received final Food and Drug Administration approval for its generic prescription allergy remedy desloratadine 5 mg, the generic equivalent to Schering-Plough's Clarinex.

Under the terms of a patent-infringement suit settlement, Perrigo can commercially launch its generic desloratadine product July 1. The new product launch may be a prescription or over-the-counter product, depending on its status at the time of launch, Perrigo stated.

PITTSBURGH — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug for epilepsy made by Mylan, the drug maker said.

The FDA approved Mylan's levetiracetam extended-release tablets in the 500-mg and 750-mg strengths.

The drug is a generic version of UCB's Keppra XR, used to treat partial onset seizures in epilepsy patients ages 16 years and older.

Various versions of the drug had sales of about $162.8 million during the 12-month period ended in September, according to IMS Health.

JERUSALEM — Teva Pharmaceutical Industries announced that Shlomo Yanai, president and CEO, will retire from his post in May.

Yanai, who has served in this capacity for five years, has helped Teva expand from a mainly generics business to a more diversified pharmaceutical company, with expected 2012 revenue of approximately $22 billion, and an expanded footprint in the European, Asian and Latin America markets.

The role of the pharmacist has evolved considerably over the past decade, and few things exemplify that evolution more than pharmacists taking an active role in patients’ medication therapies and consulting with them one-on-one.