Executive Summary

Substitution of generic omeprazole is 12% of total scripts, 19% of new according to Jan. 5 data, Schwarz AG CEO Klaus Veitinger reported Jan. 8 at J.P. Morgan H&Q Conference in San Francisco. Schwarz subsidiary Kudco is distributing the generic of AstraZeneca's proton pump inhibitor Prilosec to mail order operations on limited basis due to manufacturing limitations (1"The Pink Sheet" Dec. 16, 2002, p. 30). Mail order aided sweeping substitution of generic fluoxetine (Lilly's Prozac), which had 80% mail service conversion rate in one week (2"The Pink Sheet" Aug. 27, 2001, p. 8). Express Scripts' 2001 Drug Trend Report predicted that, if introduced by December, generic omeprazole market share would reach 17% by end of 2003 (3"The Pink Sheet" June 17, 2002, p. 12)...