Lupin gets US regulator nod for generic oral contraceptive Minastrin 24 Fe

Drugmaker Lupin on Thursday said it had received approval from the US regulator for the much-awaited generic oral contraceptive drug Mibelas 24 Fe, a chewable tablet.

Mibelas 24 Fe, a copy of Allergan's Minastrin 24 Fe, is meant for use by females of reproductive age to prevent pregnancy.

Lupin can now market and sell the generic drug exclusively for 180 days.

Minastrin 24 had sales of USD 360.5 million in the United States for the year ended December 2016, as per IMS data.

Lupin has received approvals for eight products since January this year and has launched seven products including this one.

Lupin has the fifth largest pipeline of Abbreviated New Drug Application filings, with 34 pending approval by the US Food and Drug Administrations. Cumulative Filings with the US FDA now stand at 346, with the company having received approvals for 212 products.

Shares of Lupin rose 0.41 percent to close at Rs.1456.40 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, the benchmark Sensex gained 0.63 percent to end at 29,585.85 points.