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Reckitt loses fight to block generic drugs
SHARES in Reckitt Benckiser closed three per cent lower yesterday after US authorities said they will allow rivals to produce generic versions of the firm’s heroin substitute.
The consumer health goods company’s pharmaceuticals division makes most of its profit from Suboxone, a treatment containing buprenorphine that helps people addicted to opiates cope with ceasing to take them.
The company had been campaigning against competitors entering the market since its exclusivity status expired in 2009.
Reckitt said yesterday it had been informed by the Food and Drug Administration that the regulator had approved two generic versions of Suboxone tablets in the US, and that it would refer Reckitt to the Federal Trade Commission.