Dr Reddy’s relaunches generic Nexium in blue after AstraZeneca lawsuit
pharmafile | January 6, 2016 | News story | Manufacturing and Production, Sales and Marketing | AstraZeneca, Dr Reddy's, Nexium, acid reflux, esomeprazole, lawsuit, purple pill
Dr Reddy’s has relaunched its generic version of AstraZeneca’s blockbuster heartburn drug Nexium in the US, changing the colour from purple to blue after the British drugmaker brought a lawsuit.
In November, Delaware District Court granted AZ a temporary restraining order preventing India’s second-largest pharma company from selling its generic version in purple in the US. The judge in the case said the distinctive purple colour of AZ’s product protected it from generic competitors, and that Reddy’s use of the colour may suggest to users that its version was identical to Nexium and authorised by the London-based company.
Since the launch of Nexium (esomeprazole magnesium), which treats acid reflux, AstraZeneca has marketed the product as the ‘purple pill’.
A Dr Reddy’s spokesperson was quoted as saying the change was made to allow the company to get the product back on sale in the US as quickly as possible. The product’s appearance has been changed from two-tone purple to two-tone blue.
The relaunch will be a boost to Dr Reddy’s, which faced a difficult end to 2015 after confirming it had received a complaint letter from the FDA over standards at three of its Indian manufacturing sites.
Reports suggest Dr Reddy’s generic accounted for 2% of all esomeprazole magnesium prescriptions in the US since October 30, following its launch. Branded and generic Nexium is worth more than $5 billion in annual sales in the US market, according to IMS Health figures.
Joel Levy
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