Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has launched its versions of two of Sanofi’s antihypertensives Avapro and Avalide in the USA.
The Israeli drugmaker has started shipped its copies of Avapro (irbesartan) and Avalide (irbesartan/hydrochlorothiazide) tablets which are still reasonable earners for Sanofi and partner Bristol-Myers Squibb. According to IMS data, they had annual sales in the USA of $464 million and $124 million, respectively.
Teva noted that as the first company to file Abbreviated New Drug Applications containing paragraph IV certifications for both of these products, it has been awarded a 180-day period of marketing exclusivity.
The news comes a couple of days after Teva noted that it has started selling an authorised generic of Provigil (modafinil), the narcolepsy drug marketed by Cephalon, which was itself acquired by the Petah Tikva-headquartered firm in October last year. The drug, which has annual sales of $1.10 billion, will be manufactured under the brand’s New Drug Application at the same facility where it is currently produced and shipping has commenced.
