Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc., a drug maker based just over the county line in Corona, has had a busy 2008 so far.
Watson has posted positive clinical trial results for one of its drugs in development, launched a generic drug and could see a nine-figure sales boost when a blockbuster osteoporosis drug comes off patent next month.
Watson and a pair of competitors, including Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., which has an operation in Irvine, and Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Montvale, N.J., each stand to record $100 million in generic Fosamax sales during a six-month exclusivity period that starts Feb. 6, analyst Adam Greene of JPMorgan Chase & Co. wrote in a recent report.
Fosamax, which is made by Merck & Co., generated $2.2 billion in sales through the nine months ended Sept. 30. Merck has projected that Fosamax’s sales for 2007 should come in at $2.9 billion to $3.1 billion.
Watson and Merck could team up to make a generic version of Fosamax, Greene said.
Earlier, Watson said a late-stage trial for its topical gel for treating overactive bladders met its main goal of reducing incontinence among its users. Watson plans to file a new drug application with the Food and Drug Administration for oxybutynin in the second quarter.
Watson has “the potential to introduce the first gel formulation for the treatment of overactive bladder in 2009,” said Paul Bisaro, the company’s new chief executive.
Bisaro, who previously worked for Barr, became Watson’s chief executive in September, succeeding founder Allen Chao, who stays as chairman.
Overactive bladder affects some 33 million Americans, according to Watson.
Watson began the month by launching a version of a generic antibiotic that’s aimed at treating or preventing bacterial infections. Watson’s clarithromycin extended-release tablets are a generic version of Biaxin XL, which was developed by Abbott Laboratories Inc. of suburban Chicago.
Biaxin and generics had about $200 million in total sales for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, Watson said in a release.
The launch comes nearly four years after Watson received FDA approval for generic Biaxin. Watson got clearance for the drug in June 2004. But the tablet got tied up in a patent infringement suit from Abbott until the suit was dismissed last July.
Chao, Watson’s founder, is an Anaheim Hills resident who’s made big donations to the University of California, Irvine. The Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at UC Irvine is named after the executive and his family members.
TriZetto, UnitedHealth
Investor Web site Motley Fool recently looked at a growing movement in healthcare,the ability to allow patients to find out how much they will pay for a service on the spot, instead of getting a bill a month later.
The article mentioned Newport Beach-based TriZetto Group Inc., which has software that can be integrated into healthcare networks. TriZetto’s product is called Qnxt.
It also mentioned that UnitedHealth Group Inc., parent company of Cypress-based PacifiCare Health Systems Inc., said its doctors who use services from Watertown, Mass.-based Athenahealth Inc. would be able to get on-spot price quotes for their patients.
Author Brian Orelli wrote that the managed care company’s move to provide service prices “seems like a good way for UnitedHealth to keep its customers happy, so it seems like a prudent move to set up more partnerships with other claims systems.”
Orelli then predicted that healthcare providers’ next obvious integration was with banks, given the increasing cost of healthcare.
“That way, patients will not only be able to know how much the trip to the ER is going to cost them, but also the interest rate on any resulting debt,” he said.
Symphony Signs License Deal
Symphony Medical Inc., a private company out of Laguna Hills, said earlier this month that it signed a licensing deal with Vancouver, British Columbia-based Angiotech Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Symphony plans to use Angiotech biomaterials as part of preventive therapy that could be used to stop the onset of post-operative atrial fibrillation, or irregular heartbeat, for patients who get coronary artery bypass grafts and heart valve surgeries.
Symphony is headed by Raymond Cohen, known locally as chief executive of Cardiac Science Inc., a maker of heart defibrillators. Cardiac Science was based in Irvine before moving to Bothell, Wash., after combining with Quinton Cardiology Systems Inc. in 2005.
Symphony was founded in 2003 to develop various treatments for heart disorders. Its treatments include injecting drugs directly into the heart during open-chest surgery or through a minimally invasive procedure using a catheter.
The deal also grants Angiotech a stake in Symphony in exchange for the exclusive technology license. Angiotech also is set to receive royalties from product sales should Symphony’s treatment receive regulatory approval and be developed commercially.
