Indian pharmaceutical manufacturer Lupin said it received regulatory approval to launch a generic version of AstraZeneca’s asthma inhalation medicine.
Budesonide Inhalation Suspension is among medium-sized drugs sold in the United States, with annual sales of around $475 million.
It is sold by AstraZeneca under the name Pulmicort Respules Inhalation Suspension.
The drug is indicated for the maintenance treatment of asthma and as prophylactic therapy in children 12 months to 8 years of age.
Lupin is one of the world’s biggest makers of generic drugs, and sells both branded & generic formulations, biotechnology products and pharmaceutical ingredients globally.
It is the world’s biggest manufacturer of anti-TB medicines and focuses on cardiovascular, diabetology, asthma, pediatric, CNS, GI, anti-infective and NSAID segments of the pharma market.
As of September, the company was ranked 13th in terms of generics pharmaceutical companies globally in terms of market capitalization and 8th in terms of revenues.
It is also the third largest pharmaceutical player in the US by prescriptions and the fifth largest company in the Indian pharmaceutical market.