December 2015

U.S. Department of Justice entered a consent decree of permanent injunction in the District of Vermont against the Correia Family Limited Partnership, doing business as Wynsum Holsteins, a dairy farm located in West Addison, Vermont, and its partners, Anthony Correia, Barbara Correia and Stephen Correia. The decree accompanies a complaint filed at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

AstraZeneca  announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the core respiratory business of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (“Takeda”). The deal will include the expansion of rights to roflumilast (marketed as Daliresp in the US and Daxas in other countries), the only approved oral PDE4 inhibitor for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Aurobindo Pharma Limited is pleased to announce that the company has received final approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Loperamide Hydrochloride Tablet, 2 mg. This product is expected to be launched in Q4 FY2015-16.

Egalet Corporation, a fully integrated specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing, manufacturing and commercializing innovative treatments for pain and other conditions, announced the company has submitted a new drug application (NDA) for ARYMO ER (morphine sulfate) extended-release tablets for the management of pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock opioid treatment and for which alternative treatments are inadequate. The submission is based on the pivotal pharmacokinetic studies that demonstrated bioequivalence of ARYMO ER 15 mg, 30 mg and 60 mg to equivalent doses of MS Contin (morphine sulfate controlled-release). In addition, the submission includes a comprehensive battery of abuse-deterrent studies (Category 1, 2 and 3) which were conducted to support abuse-deterrent label claims for intravenous injection, snorting and oral abuse.

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced  that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an expanded age indication for GARDASIL®9 (Human Papillomavirus 9-valent Vaccine, Recombinant), Merck’s 9-valent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, to now include use in males 16 through 26 years of age, for the prevention of anal cancer caused by HPV types 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52 and 58, precancerous or dysplastic lesions caused by HPV types 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52 and 58, and genital warts caused by HPV types 6 and 11. GARDASIL 9 is already approved for use in boys 9 through 15 years of age for the prevention of these diseases. GARDASIL 9 is also approved for use in girls and young women 9 through 26 years of age for the prevention of cervical, vulvar, vaginal, and anal cancers caused by HPV 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52 and 58, precancerous or dysplastic lesions caused by HPV 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58, and genital warts caused by HPV types 6 and 11. GARDASIL 9 is contraindicated in individuals with hypersensitivity, including severe allergic reactions to yeast, or after a previous dose of GARDASIL 9 or GARDASIL® [Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (Types 6, 11, 16, and 18) Vaccine, Recombinant].