• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

BL Research Bureau

With Glenmark receiving the final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for marketing the first generic version of Trileptal (containing active ingredient Oxcarbazepine), this marks the first exclusive launch for the company in the US market.

Trileptal, which is indicated for treatment of seizures, reported sales of around $650 million for the year ended June 2007.

Launching the drug as soon as it got the FDA nod in three dosage strengths of 150 mg, 300 mg and 600 mg gives Glenmark a small edge over the Sun Pharma and Roxane with which it shares 180-day marketing exclusivity.

While Sun Pharma expects to launch the generic versions shortly, Roxane has launched its drug a day after Glenmark did. Sun, Glenmark and Roxane were amongst the first to file for the product.

Trileptal is Novartis’ blockbuster drug and the patent for Trileptal had expired in 2005. But the innovator company, Novartis, filed for a new patent for the product that is set to expire only in 2018.

Significantly, Glenmark and Sun Pharma were the only companies that were not taken to court by Novartis, even as patent related litigation with Roxane is ongoing in the US courts.

Assuming that the exclusivity will be shared by all the three first-to-file players, even if there is a significant price erosion of 50-70 per cent — this would still give Glenmark a one-time benefit. Besides, an exclusive product could assist Glenmark and Sun Pharma enhance their visibility with the trade in the US.

More Stories on : Stocks | New Products & Services | Pharmaceuticals

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Construction will continue to contribute bulk of revenues

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line