India’s Aurobindo Pharma has notified that it has secured tentative approval from US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for marketing generic lopinavir/ritonavir tablets.

It should be noted that the drug are generic equivalent of Abbott Laboratories' (ABT) Kaletra tablets and falls under anti-retrovial (ARV) segment.

The drugs are prescribed for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults and children above the age of two years. The tablets are used together with other anti-retroviral agents.

New York  - Drug maker Merck & Co will merge with rival Schering-Plough Corp in a deal valued at 41.1 billion dollars, the companies announced Monday.

The deal would double the number of medicines under the final stages of development by Merck to 18 and create the second-largest US pharmaceutical firm.

Under the agreement, Schering-Plough shareholders will receive 0.6 shares of Merck and 10.50 dollars for each share, amounting to a total of 23.61 dollars per share.

Project Vikas to enhance efficiency of around 1,000 A'bad-based pharma SMEs

Pharmaceutical manufacturing clusters in Ahmedabad received a booster dose in form of the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) and Microsoft India's joint initiative 'Project Vikas', aimed at building their skill and increasing efficiency and reliability. Under this project, launched in Gujarat on Wednesday, Microsoft India will provide support through its customised software to around 1,000 Ahmedabad-based small and medium scale units engaged in pharma sector.

Aurobindo Pharma, one of the largest API manufacturers in Asia, has in

The announcement by Aurobindo Pharma to enter in to a strategic deal with US-based pharmaceutical major Pfizer helped its shares price on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Wednesday. The deal would allow selling of generic medicines, used for cardiovascular disease and central nervous system disorders, in the US and European market.

The global generic market is currently worth $270 billion and expected to grow over $500 billion in the next five years. Pfizer holds considerable shares in drug market, selling $10 billion non-exclusive drug annually.

Washington  - The US Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that patients can sue drugmakers for failing to warn adequately of serious side effects, even if their warning labels were approved by the federal government, according to a landmark case that could expose the industry to billions of dollars in damages.

In a 6-3 decision, the court upheld a 7-million-dollar reward to a professional musician whose arm had to be amputated after she was improperly injected with Phenergan, an anti-nausea drug produced by pharmaceutical firm Wyeth.