AstraZeneca Feeling Pain From Copycats
January 31, 2008
ASTRAZENECA today warned of tough competition from rival drugs companies as demand slowed for its big-selling indigestion medicine Nexium.
Like all the big pharmaceuticals companies, Britain’s number two medicines company has suffered for years from the impact of cheap copycat versions, known as generics.
Profits fell 3% last year to $7.98 billion (Pounds 4.01 billion) on sales up 12% at $30 billion.
Generic manufacturers are this year planning to apply for the right to launch cheap versions of Nexium and of Astra’s schizophrenia drug Seroquel..
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