Hello, everyone, and how are you today? We are doing just fine, thank you, especially after a lengthy weekend respite. Of course, we have returned to the usual routines, so we are firing up the trusty coffee kettle as we brace for another round of deadlines, online meetings, and the like. No doubt, you may relate. So please join us as we hoist our cup of stimulation — our choice today is cinnamon vanilla — and get cracking. Toward that end, we have assembled another menu of tidbits for you to peruse. We hope you have a smashing day and conquer the world. And as always, do keep in touch. …
India’s powerful copycat pharmaceutical industry is set to roll out generic weight loss drugs in the U.K. within weeks, with one leading producer forecasting a “huge price war” that could widen access to the popular medicines, The Financial Times writes. Biocon is the first company to win U.K. authorization to offer a generic version of Novo Nordisk’s Saxenda weight treatment and is ready to launch sales by November. Saxenda is an older drug of the same GLP-1 drug class as the company’s popular Ozempic diabetes treatment and Wegovy weight loss medication. Biocon chief executive officer Siddharth Mittal declined to comment on his pricing strategy for generic Saxenda, but predicted his company’s sales of the drug would reach $23.5 million annually in the U.K. after the expiration of its patent protection there next month. Mittal said he expected the generic version of Saxenda to be approved by the European Union this year and in the U.S. by 2025. “When the generics come in there will be a huge price war,” he said. “There is a huge demand for these drugs at the right price.”
France’s Economy Minister Antoine Armand wants guarantees from Sanofi that production of its popular Doliprane painkiller will stay in the country to allow the sale of its consumer health branch to go ahead, Reuters reports. Last week, Sanofi disclosed it had entered talks to sell a controlling 50% stake in its Opella business — whose brands include Doliprane — to U.S. private equity firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice, but unions fear job cuts. Doliprane, an over-the-counter painkiller, is France’s best-selling drug and news that it could be partially sold to a foreign investor has prompted political concerns, in a first test case for the new government on industrial policy. Lawmakers from across the political spectrum railed against the potential sale, and some from President Emmanuel Macron’s party demanded stronger guarantees that French interests would be protected.
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