Will the Generic Versions of Levaquin Coupled with the Lawsuits Bring about the End of its Use?
Levaquin was once at the top of the heap when it came to prescribed antibiotics, but many people are wondering if the onset of generic versions of the drug coupled with the many lawsuits will finally result in an end to Johnson & Johnson’s antibiotic profit domination.
Back in 2006, the annual sales of Levaquin (levofloxacin) passed $1.4 billion in the United States alone. For a while, it was the most-prescribed antibiotic on the market. Sales of the popular drug rose in 2007 a mere 1.7 percent once news of the tendon ruptures started to circulate. By 2009, sales of Levaquin in the U.S. had dropped by 6 percent, and that is just the beginning. It isn’t just the side effects that caused the major drop in sales. Competing antibiotics also played a role in it.
Negative attention on Levaquin and Johnson & Johnson will continue throughout 2011 as some of the lawsuits are likely to reach a courtroom by the end of the year. However, that is not the only problem facing Johnson & Johnson when it comes to Levaquin: In June, the patent will expire on the drug and many generic versions will be made available to the public. The FDA has approved an oral solution of generic Levaquin that is being made by Hi-Tech Pharmacal Co. Inc. This generic competition is expected to take a big cut out of Johnson & Johnson’s Levaquin sales.
Levaquin trials are set to begin this summer. They follow a verdict previously awarded to one plaintiff, John Schedin, of $1.8 million in punitive and compensatory damages after he suffered two torn Achilles tendons as a result of taking Levaquin. In 2009, Levaquin was issued a black box warning by the FDA due to the drug’s increased risks of causing tendon ruptures.
With all of this competition for sales and the lawsuits, it makes many wonder if the brand-name version of Levaquin’s market dominance has come to an end. Only time will tell, but for the many patients that have suffered from tendon ruptures, it didn’t come soon enough.
