Teva launches prostate cancer treatment generic

NORTH WALES, Pa. Teva has introduced a generic version of a drug used to treat prostate cancer, the Israeli drug maker’s U.S. subsidiary announced Monday.

The company has launched bicalutamide tablets USP in the 50-mg strength. The tablets are a generic version of AstraZeneca’s Casodex.

Casodex had global sales of $1.26 billion in 2008, according to AstraZeneca financial data.

In other news, Teva announced Tuesday that it had agreed with Johnson & Johnson division Ortho McNeil Janssen to cease shipments of generic versions of Ortho Tri-Cyclen Lo (norgestimate and ethinyl estradiol) until a patent infringement case concerning the drug begins on July 15.