Teva Launches Generic Salmeterol in the U.K. To Compete With GSK's Serevent
Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. has succeeded in piercing the market exclusivity surrounding GlaxoSmithKline PLC's inhaled asthma products with a "first-to-market" launch on Oct.7 in the U.K. of a salmeterol xinafoate inhaler.
Salmeterol is the generic form of GSK's Serevent, which has relatively small sales in the U.K. In 2010, its local revenues amounted to £36 million ($56 million). But Teva's success in being the first generics company to market a salmeterol inhaler surely brings it a step closer to a more lucrative opportunity: the possibility of developing a competitor to GSK's combination asthma product, Seretide/Advair (salmeterol plus fluticasone propionate). Global Seretide/Advair sales were £5.1 billion in 2010, and even in England they were £200 million, more than seven times higher than Serevent's sales.
