As the global generics industry had predicted, the unexpected growth seen in the first quarter of 2020 due to forward buying caused by COVID-19 levelled off in the second quarter. However, a few companies managed to report a “mixed” second quarter or a positive first half for 2020, even after experiencing challenges, such as operational interruptions, posed by the pandemic.

Upsher-Smith Laboratories, the US arm of Japan’s Sawai Pharmaceutical, has another challenging project in the pipeline with an agreement to develop and market a follow-on version of Mallinckrodt’s Acthar Gel (corticotropin). The Japanese firm revealed Upsher-Smith’s latest finances as it revealed first-quarter financial results.

Second-quarter earnings results from two of the Big Three – Teva and Mylan – hold much of the intrigue in August, while more competition in the nascent Avastin biosimilar market could materialize in Europe.

Sawai has followed-up on a raft of approvals announced earlier this year with launch plans, including for the first generics of Daiichi Sankyo’s Memary (memantine hydrochloride) Alzheimer’s disease treatment in three presentations.