Esteve to launch new generic version of omeprazole

Pensa Pharma, subsidiary of Spanish pharmaceutical company Grupo Esteve, has launched a new formulation of omeprazole, the most consumed stomach protector in Spain and worldwide.

Esteve has become the world's first company to patent and market the new formulation of omeprazole. The drug was formerly marketed as Losec/Prilosec (omeprazole) by Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) before the patent expired in April 1999. The company said it has created an optimized formulation of this generic product that allows the capsule size to be reduced while providing the capsule with higher stability and lower sensitivity to moisture-induced deterioration. The size of the final container has also been reduced by 43% for more convenient use, smaller storage space, and less residue in the environment.

Spain is the first market where the new formulation of omeprazole will be marketed by Pensa and three other leading companies in the generic product sector. In the rest of the world, the products will be marketed by Pensa's subsidiaries and also by means of licensing agreements and other agreements with some of the main global generic companies.