REYKJAVIK, Iceland, May 21, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Actavis Group (OMX:ACT), the international generic pharmaceuticals company, today announced that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market Finasteride Tablets, USP 5 mg. Distribution of the product will begin immediately.
Finasteride 5mg tablets are the generic equivalent of Merck & Company's Proscar(r) tablets which are indicated for the treatment of benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH).
Annual sales of Finasteride 5mg tablets in the U.S. were approximately US$364 million for the twelve months ending March 2007, according to IMS Health data.
Doug Boothe, Executive VP of U.S. Commercial & Administration, said, "The launch of Finasteride tablets in the United States exemplifies the synergy generated from Actavis' global R&D, sourcing and manufacturing network, and represents an important addition to our rapidly expanding product portfolio in the U.S. market."
About Actavis
Actavis is one of the world's leading generic pharmaceutical companies specializing in the development, manufacture and sale of generic pharmaceuticals. Based in Iceland, the company has operations in 39 countries, with 11,000 employees. The company's market capitalization is approximately EUR3.3 billion and is listed on the OMX stock exchange in Iceland. Actavis expects 2007 sales to total EUR1.6bn, with approximately one-third of these sales coming from the United States, the company's single largest market.
Information in this press release may contain forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Actavis. By their nature, forward-looking statements and forecasts involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future. There are a number of factors that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from that expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These factors include, among other things, exchange rate fluctuations, the risk that research and development will not yield new products that achieve commercial success, the impact of competition, price controls and price reductions, the risk of loss or expiration of patents or trade marks, difficulties of obtaining and maintaining governmental approvals for products, the risk of substantial product liability claims, exposure to environmental liability.