Remember when, as a kid, you really, really wanted something for your birthday--but then it didn't seem so great once you got it? We wonder if that's the way Teva Pharmaceuticals feels now it's clinched a deal to begin selling generic forms of Avandia and two Avandia combo drugs in 2012. In its typical aggressive fashion, Israel-based generics maker had copied Avandia and prepared to sell its version, but GSK sued, claiming infringement of the patent on the drug's active ingredient (expiring in 2012) and a related patent (expiring in 2015).
Of course, this was all before the big brouhaha over Avandia's potential for causing heart problems, including heart attack and death. The controversy reached its height over the summer and led to an FDA warning that the drug boosts the risk of heart failure. Terms of the settlement deal weren't disclosed, but we bet Teva paid less than it would have twelve months ago--and more than it might have before the new studies showing Avandia might not be as hard on the heart as previously thought.
- check out Teva's release
- read the report from RTT News