AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN, OMXS: AZN, NYSE: AZN) tries to scramble for any revenue source as many of its products are losing their patent production. The company is following Pfizer (with Lipitor) in offering branded drugs directly to U.S. customers (who have a valid prescription) with its “Arimidex Direct”- plan. AstraZeneca says it has often been contacted by people wanting to get the branded drug even if doctors have suggested a cheaper copy.
All the recent news about counterfeit medicines has spooked a lot of people. AstraZeneca is pricings its offering below shelf prices but above those of generic copies. Arimidex (Anastrozole) is indicated as an adjuvant (post-surgery) treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive early breast cancer. It came off patent in 2010. In 2009 the drug sold almost 900 million in the US and close to 2 billion worldwide. U.S. revenues plummeted to 42 million in 2011.
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