King Pharmaceuticals is attributing a rebound in branded pharmaceutical sales during the second quarter in part to lower wholesaler inventories

Ramelteon clears FDA for "treatment of insomnia characterized by difficulty with sleep onset." Takeda is positioning Rozerem as the only prescription insomnia agent that does not carry controlled substance scheduling.

The company seeks to exploit the benefit of middle-of-the-night dosing for zaleplon through a direct-to-consumer campaign. Ads for Sepracor's Lunesta and Sanofi-Aventis' Ambien will help grow the insomnia category rather than take share away from Sonata, King exec predicts.