Generics

MINNETONKA, Minn. — UnitedHealth Group will start a program next year that it said can reduce drug costs to as low as $2 per script, the company said Tuesday.

The program, Pharmacy Saver, will be available to Medicare Part D members and is a collaboration with Kroger, Safeway and Prescription Solutions. The program will allow members to purchase some scripts for $2 for 30- and some 90-day supplies and applies to hundreds of prescription drugs, including 8-of-the-10 most commonly used by UnitedHealthcare Medicare plan members.

ST. LOUIS — Since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s, one of the greatest advances has been antiviral drugs that have helped extend the lives of patients with viral infections.

HAYWARD, Calif. A generic drug maker confirmed a patent challenge for its version of a branded cholesterol drug that recently was submitted to the Food and Drug Administration for approval.

Impax said Daiichi Sankyo and Genzyme are seeking to block Impax's generic version of Welchol (colesevelam HCl) for oral suspension, in 3.75 g/packet and 1.875 g/packet strengths. The two drug makers filed suit for patent infringement against Impax in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware after being notified that the FDA accepted Impax's ANDA for the drug.

HYDERABAD, India A generic drug maker has entered an agreement to purchase another drug maker's U.S. penicillin site.

Dr. Reddy's and GlaxoSmithKline have inked a deal in which GSK will transfer ownership of its penicillin manufacturing site in Bristol, Tenn., and rights for the Augmentin and Amoxil brands in the United States to Dr. Reddy’s, an India-based drug maker.

This transaction is expected to close within the first half of calendar year 2011. Further financial terms and conditions of the agreement were not disclosed.

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. Par Pharmaceutical has begun shipments of a generic treatment for asthma, the drug maker said Monday.

Par announced that it started shipping zafirlukast tablets in the 10-mg and 20-mg strengths. The drug is a generic version of AstraZeneca’s Accolate.

Accolate has sales of $50 million in the United States per year, according to IMS Health.

SILVER SPRING, Md. A drug maker will pull a common prescription painkiller from the market following the release of clinical data that it could cause heart problems.

HYDERABAD, India Indian generic drug maker Dr. Reddy’s Labs has launched a version of an asthma drug for the U.S. market, the company said.

Dr. Reddy’s announced the launch of zafirlukast tablets in the 10-mg and 20-mg strengths. The drug is a version of AstraZeneca’s Accolate, which had sales of $50 million during the 12-month period ended in August, according to IMS Health.

NEW YORK — Johnson & Johnson and the U.S. government are suing two generic drug makers to stop them from launching a generic drug for HIV, according to published reports.

Bloomberg reported Thursday that Tibotec, a subsidiary of J&J, and the government were separately suing Mylan and Lupin over a generic version of the drug Prezista (darunavir ethanolate), alleging patent infringement.