Lupin starts generic Aricept tablets in US market

Drug major Lupin has launched Donepezil Hydrochloride tablets, used in treating Alzheimer's disease, in the US market after having received the US health regulator USFDA's nod for the product earlier.

Lupin's product is a generic version of Eisai Inc's Aricept tablets which is indicated for the treatment of dementia of the Alzheimer's type.

The Mumbai-based firm is manufacturing and supplying the product to the US from its Goa facility.

It said in a regulatory filing that Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc, the US-based subsidiary of the company, has launched Donepezil Hydrochloride tablets in the US after getting a nod from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA).

According to IMS MAT December sales data, Aricept had sales of $47.1 million (nearly Rs 313.34 crore) in the US market.

On Thursday, the shares of Lupin closed up 0.39% or Rs 5.75 at Rs 1,480.25 per scrip on the BSE.