EMEA's CHMP gives nod to six Plavix generics

The European Medicines Agency's (EMEA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended for approval six generic versions  of blockbuster blood thinner Plavix (clopidogrel).

The cheap non-branded copies of French drug major Sanofi-Aventis' $8.0  billion-a-year product are Acino's Clopidogrel 1A Pharma, Clopidogrel  ratiopharm, Clopidogrel Acino and Clopidogrel Hexal, as well as  Clopidogrel Teva, made by the like-named Israeli generics giant, and  privately-held Greek drug manufacturer Pharmathen's Grepid.

Acino was formerly known as Schweizerhall, a Swiss investment group in  listed and private health care companies, which won approval in Germany  last year for generic Plavix (Marketletter May 19, 2008).