GlaxoSmithKline  and Medivir announced today an exclusive agreement for the commercialization of a new over the counter cold sore cream. Xerclear is the new product that will contain acyclovir and hydrocortisone for non-prescription use in multiple markets, including 14 major European countries.

This should bolster Glaxo’s over the counter medicine business. According to reports,

Swedish-based Medivir will get up to 3 million euros ($4 million) in upfront and pre-launch milestone payments, as well as up to double-digit percentage royalties on sales.

The new combo was granted marketing approval in  in last October and is based on strong clinical data. Xerclear was given “a unique label, which differentiates it from other topical cold sore products currently on the market,” GSK says.

According to the Pharma Times,

The treatment, previously known as Lipsovir, will be distributed as part of GSK’s over-the-counter Zovirax (acyclovir) franchise in multiple markets, including Europe, Russia, Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand but not North and South America, China, South Korea and Israel. The drugs giant will pay up to 3 million euros in upfront and pre-launch milestones and up to double-digit royalties.

Only time will tell if Xerclear will ever make it to market in the US.

Today, a new arthritis drug manufactured by Pozen and AstraZeneca received FDA approval. The new drug Vimovo will combine the popular heart burn drug Nexium with a generic pain killer.

Vimovo will attempt to fill the need of a drug that can reduce the risk of stomach ulcers that usually accompany most commonly used pain killers. Vimovo is a combination of naproxen, an anti-inflammatory pain reliever, and Nexium.

According to WSJ.com,

Jefferies analyst Eun Yang projects peak annual sales of Vimovo at $300 million and expects it to launch in late summer, calling it a “modest” product for AstraZeneca.

Yang said Vimovo, as a combination product, mainly provides convenience to patients and could face insurance reimbursement challenges.

Combination drugs are not exactly groundbreaking but offer more convenience and sometimes are more cost effective and can be found in almost all drug categories. Some common combination drug examples are Lopressor (beta blocker/diuretic), Vytorin (ezetimibe/simvastatin), Avandamet (Metformin hydrochloride/rosiglitazone maleate), and Hyzaar (Losartan and hydrochlorothiazide).

Vimovo was approved to treat osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and to decrease the risk of developing gastric ulcers in patients at risk of developing non steroidal anti-inflammatory drug-associated gastric ulcers. The pill is to be taken twice daily.

In a clinical trial of the drug, there was a 4.1% incidence of ulcers in Vimovo patients, compared to 23.1% among patients taking a coated form of naproxen. In a second similarly structured study, the incidence was 7.1%, compared to 24.3%.

We normally write about online pharmacy scams and safety on this blog. But the fact is, with the FDA so understaffed and underfunded in recent years, there have also been safety issues with the drugs you pick up from your corner Walmart.

We at NPN love generic drugs because they compete with overpriced brand-name drugs, forcing prices down. That’s why Walmart (and other discount retailers) can sell certain generic drugs for as little as $10 for a 90-day supply.

Teva Pharmaceuticals, a leading generic drug manufacturer, touts the claim that generic drugs are just as good as brand-name drugs in its new ad campaign:

We would love to agree with Teva. But we’re afraid it’s just not true in all cases.

The problem is that the FDA has not done its part here. The agency has not inspected the plants of generic drug makers to the extent that they should. As the People’s Pharmacy reports:

There … have been numerous recalls of generic drugs. Despite frequent assurances that such copycat medications are identical to their brand-name counterparts, scores of products have been recalled.

Last fall, the FDA banned a huge Indian pharmaceutical company, Ranbaxy, from bringing 30 different generic drugs into the U.S. Nothing more specific than “manufacturing violations” was cited. Nevertheless, Ranbaxy’s generic versions of drugs such as the cholesterol-lowering medicine simvastatin or the antibiotic ciprofloxacin were not allowed into the U.S.

More recently, a generic manufacturer called ETHEX, a division of KV Pharmaceutical, withdrew 60 generic drugs from the market. This might be just the tip of an iceberg. Hundreds of people have been complaining to their physicians and online that their generic drugs are not performing as expected. No one knows how big a problem this may be.

Fortunately, there is a way to purchase brand name drugs for less — sometimes for as little as the generic costs at your neighborhood Walmart. That’s by buying them at a licensed Canadian pharmacy.

Join us today!

canadian pharmacy spam

Spam Trackers has an informative article exposing some of the tricks and lies used by online pharmacies that send out spam e-mails. As we’ve reported before, very few people open these e-mails — but those who do are at risk of purchasing counterfeit drugs or having their money (or even their identities) stolen.

Among the deceptions used by these pharmacy scammers, as revealed by Spam Trackers:

• The sites falsely claim to take your credit card over a secure connection, but the protocol is unsecure http.
• The sites show a picture of a Verisign certificate, but it is fraudulent.
• The sites claim to have approval from the American Drug Administration (ADA) — a non-existent entity. The ADA logo used is a knockoff of the FDA logo.
• The sites display the PharmacyChecker.com seal — but have not been approved by PharmacyChecker.com.
• The sites display a CIDA seal — claiming to be a member of the Canadian International Drug Association, a non-existent entity. The logo is a knockoff of the logo of the Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA)
• The sites claim to be based in Canada — but are actually based in Russia and other countries known for rogue pharmacies.

When you join No Prescription Needed, you don’t have to worry about being scammed by these rogue pharmacies. Every pharmacy in our network has been approved by the real PharmacyChecker.com, as well as organizations such as CIPA.

So, what are you waiting for? Join us today!