AstraZeneca challenged Andrx's version of Prilosec by saying that the generic drug wasn't really equivalent.
In 2001 it derived 34% of its revenue from its dyspepsia medicine, Prilosec (omeprazole).
The original patent on omeprazole, the active chemical in Prilosec, ran out on Oct. 5.
Andrx accused AstraZeneca of trying to convince the FDA not to approve Andrx's generic Prilosec.
When Andrx launches its generic version, the value of Prilosec will be cut in half.
The loss of drugs like Vasotec and Prilosec will cost Merck billions, Ricardo says.
When the other copycat firms enter the market, the 80% of Prilosec's value will evaporate.
Unfortunately, things get incredibly complicated here--and that may keep KUDco's generic Prilosec off the market.
AstraZeneca scientists spent five years devising a three-layer pellet to protect Prilosec in the stomach.
Consumers can now buy Claritin and Zyrtec to deal with their allergies or Prilosec to tackle heartburn.
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When the generics come, sales vanish--and even a brand like Claritin or Prilosec loses much of its value.
But if AstraZeneca pulls off an upset, it will sustain its lucrative Prilosec monopoly for five more years.
It hopes to switch to a newer, still-patented version of Prilosec that should be on the market by January.
In a previous note, Evans argued that Protonix has been used largely because it is priced lower that Prilosec.
"We have 14 patents around Prilosec, " says Jorgen Winroth, a spokesman for AstraZeneca.
Worldwide sales of Prilosec slipped 7%, as AstraZeneca reduced inventories in advance of releasing an improved version called Nexium.
The next two patents apply to using Prilosec in combination with an antibiotic to treat ulcers caused by bacterial infection.
It accuses AstraZeneca of trying to slow down generic versions of Prilosec even though it is unlikely to win any case.
This generic version of Astra-Zeneca's Prilosec (for heartburn), the world's bestselling pharmaceutical, is likely to go on the market next year.
He told the group that he takes over-the-counter Prilosec, a heartburn medication, which meant he didn't need a more expensive prescription drug.
Nexium is virtually the same drug as Prilosec at a molecular level.
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For Prilosec, Andrx and Pharmaceutical Resources' Genpharm division share that six-month exclusivity.
It also says that extra patents it filed after the original patent on Prilosec should extend its ownership of the drug by several years.
In 1992 Frazier was hired as the general counsel of Astra Merck Group, a joint venture in charge of marketing the heartburn drug Prilosec.
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Standing between Prilosec and a torrent of cheap knockoffs are a judge in lower Manhattan and a chemical coating less than 10 microns thick.
Your observation that many people use Prilosec today, and making a jump that stomach problems are caused by GM technology has zero basis in science.
Other patents on Prilosec could protect it for several additional years.
By contrast, Prilosec, the fifth-most prescribed drug, is patented through 2001.
Prilosec was invented in 1979 at AstraZeneca's lab in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Each purple Prilosec capsule contains about 100 of the three-layer pellets.
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