Cipla launches generic version of Advair asthma drug in Germany, Sweden

Cipla has launched an anti-asthma inhaler in Germany and Sweden that is a generic version of GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Advair. “In Germany the new product is distributed under the name Serroflo, whereas in Sweden the combination is launched as Salmeterol/Fluticasone Cipla,” Cipla said in a statement.
 
Subhanu Saxena, Managing Director and Global CEO of Cipla, said, “Over the next 12-18 months we will see a series of launches throughout Europe as we know that there is a common need for high quality, affordable, reliable and thus sustainable therapy-alternatives – and this is what Cipla stands for.”
 
Advair is the metered dose combination inhaler. The combined market size for the product in Germany and Sweden stands at $100 million per annum. The launch of anti-asthma metered dose inhalers (MDI) by Cipla in Germany and Sweden is expected to give a major boost to the Mumbai-based drug maker’s performance in the Europe.
 
“In December, Denmark became the first European country to approve for sale a generic version of GlaxoSmithKline's $8 billion-a-year Advair, and analysts have been expecting more such approvals. Making copies of inhaled drugs such as Advair is a challenge because of the complexity of making a device that effectively delivers the medicine directly into the lungs,” says a report by Reuters.