Krka is keen to expand its geographic presence beyond its stronghold in Europe, especially by capitalising on the “huge opportunity” in China. But it has no immediate plans to build a major presence in the Americas, according to the Slovenian group’s management board member David Bratoz.

Sun’s managing director, Dilip Shanghvi, has defended the “underlying health” of the company after a sizeable charge linked to antitrust litigation almost completely wiped out Sun’s pre-tax profit in its financial second quarter, while a sales decline in India limited overall turnover growth.

Nichi-Iko has started promoting the value-added portfolio of Eisai’s Elmed in Japan under a strategic alliance struck earlier this year that also includes Nichi-Iko acquiring all shares in Elmed by 1 April 2019. As part of the “phased acquisition” (Generics bulletin, 6 April 2018, page 3), Nichi-Iko said it had by 1 October acquired a third of stocks in Elmed for a total of ¥5.47 billion (US$48.7 million).

Significant sales increases for products launched in its previous financial year helped Towa to register turnover up by a tenth to ¥49.1 billion (US$435 million) in its financial first half ended 30 September 2018. Products launched in 2017 – including telmisartan, miglitol and orodispersible olmesartan – accounted for ¥3.6 billion of first-half sales, up from ¥1.2 billion in the first half in 2017. Meanwhile, more recent launches from 2018, such as lamotrigine and minodronic acid, generated sales of ¥0.8 billion.

Introducing its Enoxaparin Becat biosimilar in both Spain and France during September this year – in the latter market through partner Biogaran – enabled Laboratorios Farmacéuticos Rovi to report turnover from the low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) of €7.8 million (US$8.9 million) in the third quarter, and €16.7 million in the first nine months, of this year. The Spanish firm has also just rolled out Becat in Austria and Latvia.

Concordia International no longer faces a UK probe into “alleged anti-competitive agreements and/or concerted practices” for three of the firm’s products – trazodone, nefopam and dicycloverine – after the country’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) closed an investigation on “administrative priority grounds”.