After amlodipine in Japan, Ranbaxy launches omerprazole

Ranbaxy's US subsidiary Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc. has launched an authorised generic version of Omeprazole 40 mg capsules in the US under an an agreement with AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals. 

Omeprazole 40 mg is indicated for the treatment of acid-related disease, including gastric ulcer and Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.  Ranbaxy said the most common side effects of Prilosec, AstraZeneca's best-selling prescription medicines with sales in the past five years of $26 billion, are headache, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Prilosec 40 mg had sales in the US market of $204.2 million (IMS: March 2008 MAT).

''We welcome the opportunity to market an authorized generic of Omeprazole 40 mg capsules that will be commercialised immediately to all classes of trade in the US healthcare system under the Ranbaxy label,'' said Jim Meehan, vice president of sales and distribution for RPI.  ''We will offer this product as an affordable and accessible generic formulation to patients requiring this medication.

Last Wednesady, 23 July, Ranbaxy announced the Day-1 launch of its first independently developed generic product, Amlodipine tablets in 2.5mg and 5mg dosages in Japan. Amlodipine is currently the largest molecule which has gone off patent in Japan and represents the biggest generic opportunity so far in the Japanese generic market. The product has a market size of around $2 Billion (Jan-Dec ' 2007 IMS (Japan) ). 

Earlier during the year, Ranbaxy had received authorisation from the Japanese ministry of health and labour welfare (MHLW-Japan) to market the generic version of Amlodipine tablets 2.5mg & 5mg.  

The  results of the reform process by the Japanese government is reflected in the growing genericisation of medicines. The generics market is expected to touch 30 per cent by volume by 2012.

Ranbaxy says it already has a total of four products in the Japanese generics market and has a strong portfolio that will be introduced during 2008 and 2009. Since 2004, Ranbaxy has filed 7 products in Japan and so far has 100per cent success rate in getting approvals.