DRL launches Plavix copy in US with exclusivity

Mumbai: Drug maker Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd (DRL) said on Friday that it had launched a generic version of the world’s second largest selling drug brand Plavix, the blood thinner drug sold by of Bristol Myers Squibb and Sanofi SA, in the US under patent protection.

DRL will sell the larger dose of the drug, known as clopidogrel by its generic name, in the US market from Friday. The Indian company was one of the first to apply for the US Food and Drug Administration’s approval for the generic version along with Gate Pharmaceuticals, Mylan Inc and Teva Pharmaceuticals. It has been allowed a 180 days of marketing exclusivity for this strength (300 mg tablets).

Plavix had sales of about $6.740 billion in the 12 months ended March, according to drug market researcher IMS Health. It had average sales of around $9 billion till 2011 when its patent expired in many European markets.

The revenue will continue declining after the entry of generic copies in the US, the world’s largest drug market by value. The US patent for the drug expired on Thursday. Other Indian companies which have received approval to market the smaller doses of the drug include Aurobindo Pharma Ltd, Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd and Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd.