Dive Brief:
- In the lead-up to Namenda's (memantine) patent expiry, Allergan attempted to discontinue sales and require patients to switch to a new XR version. Those efforts were thwarted when the New York attorney general filed a lawsuit last year to stop the company from taking the actions. Namenda is used to treat Alzheimer's disease.
- Now that Dr. Reddy's Lab in India and Mylan have each introduced generic Namenda, Allergan is anticipating a $200 million hit to forecasted sales.
- Allergan is required to keep Namenda on the market for 30 days post-generic launch, but then it can take it off the market. Now the company is attempting to introduce a new drug known as Namzaric, which combines the main ingredient from Namenda with the main ingredient from Eisai's Aricept (donepezil).
Dive Insight:
Last year, Namenda generated $1.5 billion in revenues for Allergan, and those sales are definitely going to be diminished by the introduction of generic memantine. Nonetheless, during the ongoing lead-up to expiration and introduction of generic memantine options, which has been about a year, Allergan succeeded in switching 40% of Namenda patients to the new XR version.
In addition, Allergan is introducing Namzaric and gearing up the marketing machine with the goal of continuing to generate sales for its Alzheimer's disease franchise.