Barr: generic Prozac euphoria comes to an end

Barr has done extremely well out of generic fluoxetine, but the windfall period is coming to an end. From next month, its version of the drug will be joined by brands from other generic manufacturers. While this will certainly hit Barr's revenues, the company's economies of scale should at least allow it to maintain a large share of the market.

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Barr: generic Cordarone approved

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Barr: generic Adderall gets attention

Shire's Adderall made over $400 million in 2002, and is one of the leading therapies used to treat children with attention deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD). Barr is unlikely to capture much of Shire's market share because the approval is for the older twice-daily version - less popular than Shire's convenient once-daily Adderall XR.

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Barr: AstraZeneca's grip on US tamoxifen market finally broken

AstraZeneca's estrogen analogue, tamoxifen, was originally launched in 1973 under the brand name Nolvadex. After almost three decades on the market, tamoxifen continues to be a core breast cancer treatment. Unsurprisingly, it is heavily genericized in most markets, except the US - until now. AstraZeneca will turn to its newer Arimidex to offset competition from generic tamoxifen.

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Barr: a major OC generic competitor

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Barr/Duramed: emerging from the generics market

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Barr/AstraZeneca: another tamoxifen stalemate

Although tamoxifen is a generic drug in most countries, it is still protected in the US. Under a 1992 agreement between AstraZeneca and Barr, generic competition should have begun in August - but additional pediatric indications have pushed it back to February 2003. Barr is suing AstraZeneca for the right to produce tamoxifen now; it's not clear who will be the victor.

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AstraZeneca: Toprol ruling worsens generic woes

AstraZeneca has been left facing a significant revenue loss after a US court ruled that two Toprol XL patents were invalid. In the face of this new generic threat, combined with existing challenges to the company's other blockbuster drugs and its weak pipeline, AstraZeneca can now only hope its strategy of in-licensing products can be relied upon to keep the money coming in.

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AstraZeneca: passing the baton to Arimidex

AstraZeneca's Arimidex is associated with a lower risk of endometrial abnormalities than the UK company's older breast cancer drug, tamoxifen. Tamoxifen generics are expected to flood the US market early next year, hitting AstraZeneca's bottom line, but the news should further enhance Arimidex as a worthy successor to tamoxifen.

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AstraZeneca: 'authorized generics' strategy could be extended

AstraZeneca's third biggest-selling drug, Toprol XL, has come up against generic competition sooner than anticipated after losing its protection against copycat launches. AstraZeneca has responded by reaching an agreement with US generic firm Par Pharmaceutical to distribute and supply a 25mg generic version of Toprol XL, a strategy that could be used with its other drugs facing patent expiry.

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